Endless Adventure: Second Chance
by kta250298
Summary: Kendrick Austin was murdered for unknown reasons and was trapped in Damnation. Thanks to a chance escape, he finds himself in an oceanic world full of strange places and stranger people. On the run from his previous captors, how long can he last before ruin finds him?
1. Prologue

It's strange how rapidly one's like can change. Take me for example, Kendrick Austin. I was a fairly normal kid, if a bit grim at times perhaps, but generally trying not to make a nuisance of myself. I enjoyed learning new things (ironically enough I detested school) and my teachers seemed to agree that is was a bright kid in my own right. I was fifteen when everything changed.

I was riding my bus to school, a fairly average occurrence, when the windows were suddenly blown in from gunfire. The bus swerved and crashed into a tree, launching me to the front. I gingerly stood and forced open the doors, falling out onto the rough gravel. I could smell the smoke from the engine and heard someone walking closer, the crunch from their steps seemingly everywhere in my dazed confusion. I looked up, the barrel of a gun the last thing I saw.

The next thing I knew I was surrounded by darkness, a deadly silence surrounding me. I felt like I was laying on a table, then I was suddenly blinded by lights. Gloved hands that faded into the darkness around my spotlight were holding various tools, some looking like surgical equipment and others that I couldn't comprehend their use. I couldn't move, speak or do anything to stop as they went to work on me.

After they had finished their agonizing work I remember being wheeled into a strange room covered in symbols of various kinds. They left me there for a few minutes before I had the sudden sensation of falling, the gurney disappearing from beneath me as I went faster and faster, twisting around in the air. As I fell I noticed I was coming closer to a light of sorts, but something felt off about it. I realized what was wrong as I passed the light, entering a realm that I wish I could forget.

I saw endless miles of torture and bloodshed, I had fallen into Hell. Dante's works didn't even scrape the surface of the real deal, his concepts but a pitiful shadow of the terrible glory of damnation. I saw others falling around me, people and things of all kinds and from all places doomed to the same place. We landed, our bones shattering and organs tearing as we crashed down upon one another in a heap of pain and flesh. It only got worse from there.

Damnation and places like it don't have the same rules as other planes. Time has no real meaning, anyone from any-when can be dumped together at a moments notice. Any attempts at timekeeping are dashed as tic-marks in cells fluctuate in amount at seemingly random intervals, the same going for any other method. Whether it was for seconds or years, all that mattered was that I was there. The world would constantly change around me, a fresh new torture worst than the last delivered at the hands of a new tormentor. I heard tales that people who served out a sentence were allowed to leave, but that never happened for me. I had to take my freedom for my own.

My chance came when a demon thought it would be a good idea to taunt me with a look-see into the mortal world. He had me chained above a crack that revealed a seemingly endless sea, the smell of salt and the feel of the wind blowing around me. I hung there limply as he mocked me for being so close yet so far when a sudden explosion distracted him. I felt strength like nothing before surge through me as an insane idea worked into my mind. I pulled against my bonds with all my might, working my legs against the rock face to aid my efforts. With and agonizing tear I ripped free, falling though the crack and into the world below.


	2. Chapter 1

As I tumbled through the sky, I had a hard time remembering a moment where I was as happy as I was now. I had done it, I had escaped. Tears of joy rained around me, the wind tearing them from my eyes as I careened toward the water below me. The noise became deafening as I picked up speed, but I payed no never-mind to that, instead becoming lost in the bliss of knowing that I was free. Then I hit the water.

* * *

The pain and shock of crashing against the water knocked me out, and I found myself washed up on an island some time later. I struggled to crawl inland, my body weak from malnourishment and injuries. I had to stop and rest under a tree, panting from exertion. Fruits were laying around me, some rotten while others looked fresh. I reached for one close to me and took a bite, the juices running down my chin as I took in the heavenly sent. I felt a surge of energy from the first food I had in…ever as far as I was concerned.

I quickly ate all the food around me, and from the trees as well. I chose to pass on a strange, swirly fruit I had found. I had never seen anything like it before, and wasn't willing to take my chances so soon. My body fueled and feeling better than ever I started walking down the beach, eating any food I came across on my way.

* * *

I don't know how long I was walking, but eventually I heard a commotion ahead of me. Excited at the prospect of meeting another person who wasn't screaming for mercy, I broke into a run. As the sounds grew louder, I slowed to not appear as threatening. I had enough sense left to realize that a charging naked guy might not be the most welcome sight.

"Sense, that's a joke." My more…unpleasant side said. "There's not an ounce of sense left in the brat."

"Come now, there's no need to be so hard on him." My positive voice rebutted. "He's literally been to hell and back, I'm sure he'll get better in time."

"I hope you're right Angela." I said, agreeing with my nice voice, my own voice strained from screaming all the time. "You need to think positive Demona."

"You be positive, I'll be realistic." She replied.

Angela and Demona have been with me as long as I could remember, helping me deal with the endless agony. Angela has been nice, but Demona hasn't really. She seems to like being mean more, but I'm still glad she's here.

I walked through a thick area of brush and trees to find a clearing, with what appeared to be a pirate ship docked at the beach. A group of people in ragged clothing stopped…whatever they were doing to look at me. We stared at each other for a while, neither party moving.

"…Er…Hi?" I eventually said.

"How eloquent, a real poet this one." Demona remarked sarcastically.

"Hush you, they're talking." Angela admonished.

"Who are you?" One of them asked.

"My name's Kendrick…could you tell me where I am?" I responded, realizing I had no idea where I was other than not in Damnation.

"This island doesn't have a name, it was supposed to be uninhabited." A different guy replied, looking me over. "Where are your clothes, were you in a shipwreck?"

"Er…yeah, I was." I answered, thinking that saying I fell out of hell wouldn't go over very well.

"Why don't you show us, maybe we can find more survivors." One of them offered.

"No! No, no that's not necessary." I said hastily, trying to cover my ass. "There's nothing left, no survivors."

"Let's keep it that way." Someone behind me said, a sword suddenly thrusting through my stomach in accompaniment.

I gasped and fell to the ground, clutching my wound. Blood gushed over my hands as I tried to contain it, grunting as I was pushed to the ground.

"Let's get out of here lads, I heard Captain Buggy was around." The man who stabbed me said. "Let's see if he needs some extra hands."

The others cheered in agreement, walking toward their ship.

"Not even a day alive and this happens, you really are worthless aren't you?" Demona chided.

"Quiet! Kendrick, breath honey." Angela instructed.

"It hurts." I said quietly.

"I know it hurts, but you need to find something to stop the bleeding." Angela said.

"Hey, retard, if you want to live you need to eat something." Demona remarked.

"I don't have any more food, and I don't see any fruit." I said, looking around.

"Then you better start enjoying 'alternative diets'." She responded.

I looked around some more, confused until I saw the retreating forms of my attackers. Growling, I pushed myself up from the ground and charged forward, diving after the first person in my range. I wrapped my mouth around his shoulder and bit, tearing it away and swallowing. The man screamed and threw me away, but I recovered quickly and rushed him again, this time going for his neck. I tore out his throat and started consuming him, feeling stronger and better with each bite.

His comrades all exclaimed various things in surprise, some shooting me while others attacked me with swords. Every bullet that hit created a cold fire in my body, but did little else to deter me. The guys with swords finally reached me, one of them slicing me across the back. I screamed and turned, grabbing the offenders head and ripped it off, using it to bash in the face of one of his compatriots. This left four of them still alive, two still shooting me while one charged me. The other was climbing on the ship, probably to get away. I ducked a sword swipe and used the opening to force my hand through my attackers stomach, pulling out his entrails. Suddenly something hit me and forced me back, blasting off my arm in the process. I looked up and saw the man who had escaped to the ship was aiming a cannon at me. I surged forward and jumped off one of my attackers to reach the deck of the ship. I grabbed the surprised cannoneer by his head and bashed it into the cannon until it was little more than a red paste. The two remaining pirates had started running at this point, apparently not confident in their ability to kill me. I chased them down, running on my hands and feet at full force. I caught up to the first one and tackled him to the ground, his neck breaking on impact. I rolled off him and charged down the last pirate, the last thing he saw when he turned to look being me, flying through the air with my moth agape.

* * *

I cleaned myself off in the water and put on a change of clothes. Not much was clean, but I was able to scrap together a pair of black trousers and a purple shirt. My arm had grown back, the bone coming first and then followed by the muscle and skin. I wasn't that surprised, injuries even worse than that healed in Damnation, only slightly shocked it still happened here in the world of the living. None of their shoes fit me, so I decided to go barefoot for now. I climbed aboard the ship, looking around for anything useful.

"Kendrick, don't you think we should talk about what just happened?" Angela asked.

"You mean what I did to the pirates?" I asked. "I suppose in hindsight it was pretty strange."

"Strange? Fucking awesome is what it was." Demona complimented. "Nice job kid, didn't know you had it in you."

"Thanks Demona." I said, searching what appeared to be a treasure room.

"Aren't you at all worried about what you did?" Angela asked again.

"Not really, I'm just glad to be alive." I replied, pulling a sheet off what appeared to be a mirror.

I was right, the sheet fell away to reveal a full-body mirror. I was slightly startled by my appearance, not used to it after so much time. My skin was deathly pale, perhaps completely white, and the same went for my hair. The only bit of color on me were my clothes and my eyes, which were a bright red.

"Have I always looked like that?" I wondered aloud.

"Does it matter? Just get the ship going so we can find some more food someplace." Demona said.

"She's right, we can't survive here forever." Angela agreed.

"Alright, but do either of you know anything about sailing a ship like this?" I asked.

Silence.

"Well…alright. How hard could it be?"

* * *

Hours later I had finally deciphered the riddle of using a ship and was on my way. Where I was on my way to I had no idea, but I was definitely getting there. It was some time later, a bit after the sun went down, that I finally saw a new island on the horizon, the light from the city a beacon of hope in the dark sea. Adjusting the course as best I could, I headed towards the island post-haste.

* * *

As I drifted closer, I realized that I had no idea how to dock. I scrambled around the ship, trying to pull up the sails as quickly as I could. After doing that, I realized I was still moving toward the dock faster than I probably should.

"How do you know how fast you're going?" Angela asked.

"Yeah, it took you an hour to raise the sails." Demona agreed. "What do you know?"

They proved to be correct as the ship drifted to a stop soon after, coming just short of the dock. I thought about swimming there, but water makes me unusually tired, and I didn't feel confident that I could make it from this distance.

Looking around the ship I found a grappling hook of sorts among a few chains.

"Kendrick, you should take one of those chains." Demona said. "It could be useful if someone tries to kill us again."

"Why don't I just use the hook?" I asked.

"Do you know how to fight with a hook on a piece of rope?" Demona replied. "A chain is simple enough, just hit them with it."

"Demona is right, we need a weapon if we're going to survive." Angela agreed, something she has been doing an awful lot of recently.

I shrugged and pulled a piece out of the pile, not too long of course, just something around the length of my leg. Considering I was about 6ft tall that wasn't something to shrug at.

I used the hook to pull the ship closer to the dock, cringing slightly when they bumped together. I disembarked from the ship and walked into town, feeling creeped out at being alone like this. I saw something out of the corner of my eye and turned to see what it was, finding nothing. I saw something else, so I turned to look only to see nothing again. I started feeling nervous, looking around wildly to see what was moving only to come up disappointed each time. I saw something come from an alley, and almost hit it with the chain I had wrapped around my arm before I realized it was a cat.

"Heh, you gave me a scare little guy." I said, breathing a sigh of relief.

That quickly changed when the animal opened it's mouth; a strange, unearthly moaning and siren blaring out. I covered my ears and fell to the ground, writhing in pain. Someone walked out of the shadows and pet the cat, which then left and took the noise with it. The person squatted next to me, tisk-ing as if I was a disappointing child.

"Kendrick, do you really thing you could leave and that would be that?" The guy said, laughing slightly. "I'm afraid it's not that simple, and you're going to have to come with me."

I didn't move for a moment, then jumped forward and pushed the man to the ground, running back to the dock.

"I love it when they run." I heard the man say, and a moment later my arm was caught in something.

I ignored it and ran undeterred, my forearm torn from my body. I tripped on a loose plank and tumbled into a small boat, earning me a gasp of surprise from its owner.

"What are yo-!" She started to say.

"No time, sail!" I interrupted, pushing us away with my leg.

My fellow occupant started to say something, but a plume of fire narrowly missing us discouraged further conversation as she helped us on our way.

* * *

I wasn't until we had put a comfortable distance between us and the island that I allowed myself to relax, if only a bit. I looked over at my compatriot to see how she was doing, my breath catching in my throat. She was a vision; short, bright orange hair and warm brown eyes that inexplicably drew me in. She was wearing a white and blue striped shirt along with a small orange skirt, revealing her smooth, light skin.

"Kendrick, control yourself!" Angela scolded.

"Quiet you, the kid deserves some R&R." Demona rebutted. "And here's some T&A with nowhere to run."

I pushed the thought out of my head, Angela making a scandalized gasp.

"You, tell me what just happened." The girl demanded testily.

"Do you want the truth or a more believable lie?" I asked, earning myself a glare. "Well…how about I try the truth and see how you take it? Putting it simply, I've recently escaped from Hell and am apparently being chased by demons."

The girl didn't say anything, staring me down instead.

"Ok…let's try this then." I continued, feeling awkward. "I escaped from super prison and bounty hunters are after me."

"So you're a pirate then?" The girl asked.

"What? No, of course not." I answered, surprised.

"Alright, then a bandit." She continued. "The point is that you're a criminal."

"I suppose technically I am, bu-" I started to defend myself, interrupted by a staff bashing in my nose.

"_~Aaugh!~_ What the fuck!" I demanded, wrenching the piece of wood from the girl. "What was that for!"

"It was supposed to knock you out." She replied, trying to pull her stick from my grip. "I won't be caught dead sailing with a criminal, you're probably planning to steal my treasure!"

"How would I know about any treasure you have!" I argued, holding her at bay with my other hand. "And I'm not a criminal!"

I groaned as my nose snapped back into place, fixing itself. The girl gasped at the sight and stopped struggling for a moment, only to redouble her efforts.

"If you aren't, then why did you go to jail?" She questioned sarcastically.

"I don't know." I replied quietly. "I've been asking myself that for years."

The girl stopped, choosing to instead look at me confused.

"What are you talking about?" She asked.

"If I let you go, will you promise not to hit me again?" I asked in return.

"Only if you give me my staff." The girl replied.

"Give it to her, show that you can be trusted." Angela said.

"Fuck that, teach this bitch a lesson." Demona argued. "She attacked us, put her in her place."

I ignored Demona again and handed the girl her weapon back, rubbing my nose to make sure everything is as it was.

"As I was saying, I'm not a criminal." I said. "I was taken what feels like years ago, while I was on my way to school. I've never done anything to deserve my punishment"

"How old are you?" The girl asked.

"Fifteen…I think." I answered vaguely. "I was fifteen when they took me, and where I was taken has different rules than the rest of the world. I'm not sure how old I am now."

We became quiet as I reflected on my life so far.

"I'm sorry." The girl eventually said. "For breaking your nose."

"It's alright, certainly not the worst thing that's happened to me." I responded, smiling. "How about we start over? Hi, my name's Kendrick."

The girl smiled back, taking my outstretched hand.

"Nice to meet you Kendrick, I'm Nami."


	3. Chapter 2

After we introduced ourselves Nami decided to get some sleep. I eventually got comfortable and tried to as well. Everything was going fine until something strange happened.

I can't remember what I was dreaming about, but it was cut short by the same siren and moaning the cat had made. It didn't force me to the ground this time, and I watched as the world around me changed. The landscape became broken and the sky bled, darkness creeping toward me from all directions. I heard laughing all round me as shadows danced at the edge of my vision, revealing grotesque and unnatural forms. Suddenly all the noise stopped and I was sitting at a small, metal desk, a hooded figure sitting across from me.

"Kendrick, Kendrick, Kendrick." What seemed like hundreds of voices said. "You've caused quite a stir for us down below, and we don't appreciate it."

I didn't know what to say, so I remained silent.

"We've planed for escapes like this, but then you threw us a curveball by not actually having a damning sin." The figure continued. "But there's still hope for us, as we can still track your taint. We've chosen to take this opportunity to offer you a chance to turn yourself in, and make it easy for you."

"Fuck him, let's get out of here." Demona said.

"How are you supposed to do that?" Angela asked. "We don't even know where here is."

"We got here because retard took a nap, all he has to do is wake up." Demona answered.

With out saying anything I jumped from my chair and ran off into the darkness, the voices laughing at me all the while. I charged forward, having no idea where I was going and hearing the sounds of…things chasing me.

"Wake up, wake up, wake up!" I repeated to myself, not daring to look back at my pursuers.

"Wake up!" Demona and Angela echoed.

"Wake up!"

"Wake up!"

"Wake up!"

"Kendrick! Wake Up!"

I gasped as my eyes shot open to reveal Nami shaking me awake.

"I'm up, I'm up." I said, calming her.

"Are you ok?" Nami asked, sounding concerned. "You started shaking in your sleep and I couldn't wake you."

"I'm fine now, it was only a nightmare." I explained._ "I hope…"_

"Alright. Try and keep it together, some pirates are heading this way and I have a plan." Nami said.

* * *

Nami's plan was simple; pretend to need help and offer them treasure, stealing their ship from under them. I could think of numerous ways this could go wrong, but I kept them to myself.

"This plan is unnecessary, we could just kill them and take their ship." Demona grumbled.

"It would be a bad idea." Angela said. "We should wait till we know her better to reveal Kendrick's…talents. We might scare her of otherwise."

"But I'm bored!" Demona whined, dragging out her O in exasperation. "What does it matter if she's scared of us, she tried to kill us earlier."

"She wasn't trying to kill us, just knock us out. Besides, she seems like a good person." I countered, earning myself a '_~shush~_' from Nami.

As the pirates drew closer, Nami set her plan in motion. We were splayed across our boat, pretending to be dying from…whatever sea troubles there are.

"Hey, what wrong with you? Are you almost dead?" One of them asked.

"Ahh…am I dreaming? We actually found someone…in this vast ocean." Nami drawled, pretending to be seriously ill. "Please…help us…we need water."

"We can pay you…we have treasure." I gasped, pushing a chest toward them. "Please…save us."

"Sure, we'll help ya!" A different pirate said. "But, can we see that treasure chest first?"

"Take whatever you want, but please give us water first." I said, pushing the chest toward them none the less.

"What's the hurry?" Another of the three pirates asked. "We'll save ya, just going to peek at the chest first."

"Since you seem to like it so much, we'll throw in the boat as well." Nami giggled, amused at the sight of the pirates surprise.

We watched with mirth as we sailed of on their ship, having snuck on while they were distracted by the empty chest.

"They took our ship!" One of them shouted.

"And this chest is empty!" Another continued.

A dark cloud suddenly drifted toward them, becoming violent and destroying the ship. I looked over at Nami, who seemed extremely pleased with herself.

"Nicely done, that storm helped as well." I remarked.

"Just as I expected." Nami smirked, turning to inspect the treasure the pirates had.

"…Wait, did you know the storm was going to happen?" I asked, realizing what she was implying. "How did you do that?"

"I can predict the weather, I am a navigator after all." Nami replied, giving a thumbs-up. "I can navigate through anything, even the worst storms."

"Cool." I said, sitting down. "See Demona, she has skills too."

"_~Bah~_ She can sail, so what?" Demona grunted. "What's she going to do in a fight?"

"I'm sure she can take care of herself, how else would she have made it this far?" Angela said.

"Besides, now that I'm here I can help her." I offered.

"Are you okay?" Nami asked, looking worried again.

"Yeah, why?" I responded, wondering what was wrong.

"You keep talking to yourself." Nami answered.

"Oh, I'm not talking to myself." I explained. "I'm talking to Demona and Angela, the voices in my head."

"Oh…okay." Nami said, smiling nervously and looking away.

"I don't think that was a good idea." Angela said nervously.

"What does it matter?" Demona asked. "It's not like we can do anything about it."

"Yeah, even if we tried to hide it the truth would come out eventually." I said. "Demona's right, it's easier to tell the truth."

"So!" Nami interrupted, fairly loudly at that. "Kendrick. Why do you look like that? I assumed it was a trick of the moon last night, but now I can see it's just how you are."

"Do you mean my paleness?" I asked, receiving a confirming nod. "I heard a variety of reasons. I'm pale so I don't have any protection from the sun and things like that, or perhaps it's because I haven't seen the light in years. Somebody once thought it was because I was there for no reason, so my 'purity' is showing through, but I never really liked that one."

"Why not?" Nami asked, adjusting our course.

"It makes me sound like I'm better than people, but I'm not." I answered. "I'm…I was just an average kid."

"What changed?" Nami asked.

"_~sigh~_ Lots of things. I look like a ghost, I have trouble sleeping, and I get tired in water." I said. "But it's not all bad, Demona and Angela are nice company, I kept my super healing, and now I've met you. You're the first person I've had a conversation with in ages."

Nami smiled at me, going back to sailing.

* * *

It was a few minute later that she seemed to pick up on something specific I had said.

"Did you say you get tired in water?" She asked.

"Yea, it's weird." I answered. "It's never happened to me before, but touching water just…drains me. It's scary too; I can still feel and think and stuff, but it's like I lose control of my body."

"It sounds like you ate a Devil Fruit." Nami said, looking interested.

"What's a Devil Fruit?" I asked.

"I've only heard stories, but a Devil fruit is supposed to give the person who eats it powers." Nami explained. "It takes away your ability to swim, however, because the sea hates you for it."

"What do they look like?" I asked.

"I don't know. As I said I've only heard stories, I've never actually seen one." Nami answered. "Or anyone who has supposedly eaten one either."

"There was some fruits on the island I woke up on." I said, thinking back. "I wonder what it did, if I actually ate one."

"Your healing?" Nami offered.

"No, I've always been able to do that." I explained. "They did it to us so the punishments would always hurt. No scar tissue to numb the pain."

Nami didn't say anything, but she suddenly seemed uncomfortable. I didn't think much of it, I wouldn't like to hear about someone being tortured either.

* * *

I don't know how long it took, but we eventually reached another island. Seeing it in the distance made me realize that I still didn't know where I was.

"Hey Nami, where are we?" I asked. "I'm not from here."

"How do you not know where you are?" Nami asked, shrugging and explaining anyway. "We are in the East Blue, heading to Orange Town."

"Oh, the East Blue…and where is that?" I asked, reviving a strange look from Nami.

Nami explained how the world was split into four seas; the North Blue, South Blue, East Blue, and West Blue. The different oceans were split into these sections because of the Grand Line and the Red Line, which ran perpendicular to each other. The Red Line is a large continent that spans the planet, the only sizable land mass beyond islands in the world. The Grand Line is apparently some kind of ocean current that is supposed to be very dangerous, wrapping around the world in the other direction. The whole thing sounded crazy to me, but I accepted it.

"This is all basic knowledge for travelers, how do you not know this?" Nami asked when she finished explaining.

"Well, using what you've just told me I've come to the conclusion that I'm on a different planet that my old home." I answered.

"…Sure." Nami said hesitantly, letting the conversation die.

* * *

We docked at the island and went to explore the town, seeing demolished buildings everywhere.

"Looks like they're remodeling the place." I joked.

"No, that would be the work of Buggy the Clown." Nami said, sounding deathly serious. "He attacked the island and set up his base here."

"Oh, so why did we come here?" I asked. "Are we going to save the people?"

"Buggy has something that I need, so I'm going to steal it." Nami explained. "I have to go alone to be safe, can you take care of yourself for a while?"

"Sure." I answered. "Good luck, and be careful."

Nami nodded and ran off into the village.

"…And just like that we're alone again." Demona remarked.

"Not completely, we still have each other." I countered, Demona grunting in response.

"Let's see if we can find anything useful, like food." Angela said, prompting me to start moving.

* * *

I don't know how long I was looking, but eventually I grew tired of carrying the heavy chain and dropped it on the ground, inciting various protests from Demona.

"What are we supposed to do if we're attacked?" She demanded. "Use our hands?"

"Why not? It worked before." I replied. "Why are you getting so worked up about it?"

"…I thought it would be cool." She answered, and I could hear the pout in her voice.

"You're right, it would be cool." I agreed. "But it's also highly inconvenient to use."

"So what are we going to do." Angela asked. "With our hands I mean. The only fighting style we know is Kickboxing from before you died."

"I picked up some things from Benoit while he was serving his time, how hard could it be to copy old wrestling moves?" I said.

"Great, so we have the combined fighting style of beginners Boxing and watching a sport made up of actors." Demona said, groaning. "I miss the chain already."

It was then that we heard a large explosion. Worried for Nami, I ran in the direction we heard it and saw her run into a building. I ran after her and noticed some kid fighting in the street, beating down some shady looking guys.

"Wow! You're really strong!" Nami exclaimed from a balcony after the kid was done. "You beat those guys with swords bare-handed!"

"Who are you anyway?" The kid asked as I walked closer to them.

"I'm a thief that only steals from pirates." Nami introduced herself. "My name is Nami."

"What, you're not going to break his nose?" I asked, feigning confusion. "I thought that's how you greeted people?"

"Only people who almost get me killed!" Nami growled.

"_~Shihihi~_ You guys are funny." The boy laughed.

Now that I was closer I notice what the kid looked like. He was quite a bit shorter than me, with lots of dark hair hidden under the straw hat he was wearing. He had on a red, sleeveless vest and what looked like jeans rolled up to be shorts. He had scar under his left eye, and seemed pretty thin for somebody who just knocked out a group of men. Altogether he was actually…kind of cute.

"I'm Kendrick." I introduced myself. "What's your story?"

"I'm Monkey D. Luffy, and I'm going to be King of the Pirates."


	4. Chapter 3

After Luffy complained about being hungry, Nami offered to find him some food. We found an empty house and Nami left to find something to eat, leaving me and Luffy alone.

"So, why do you want to become the King of the Pirates?" I asked, intrigued.

"It's been my dream since I was a kid." Luffy answered, taking off his hat to look at it. "I made a promise to the person that gave me this hat, it's my treasure."

"I can respect that." I remarked. "It's good to have a dream, I used to have one as well."

"What is it?" Luffy asked, sounding interested.

"It's not my dream anymore, but I always wanted to be known for something." I told him. "A legacy of some kind, something someone can look at and say 'Hey, that thing there, Kendrick did that.'"

"Did you do it?" Luffy asked. "Achieve your dream?"

"No. I didn't." I answered somberly. "My dream was taken from me, it has been made so that I'm constantly hunted. It's too dangerous for people to know of me."

"You shouldn't be afraid to die for your dreams!" Luffy exclaimed. "If you are, you'll never succeed!"

"I'm not afraid to die for my dream." I defended. "I'm not afraid of death, I'm afraid of what happens after that. There are places that make you beg for death, but deny it to you, and I'll be damned if I'm forced back there!"

Luffy didn't say anything, looking conflicted about something.

"But it doesn't matter." I continued, switching back to being happy. "I have a new dream, the one thing I've wanted all these years."

"What's that?" Luffy asked.

"A family." I answered. "I want a family; people that I can trust and love, and that will accept me as their own."

"That's a good dream too." Luffy grinned. "Family is important."

"Here we go." Nami said, suddenly walking into the house. "I stole some food from Buggy."

"Awesome, I'm starving." Luffy said, eyes lighting up at the sight of it all.

"Good job Nami, let's dig in." I complimented, grabbing a piece of mutton.

* * *

It didn't take long for the food to disappear, the combined efforts of Luffy and I making short work of it.

"You two are inhuman!" Nami exclaimed once we had finished. "How is it possible to eat that much food so fast!"

"What can I say, we were hungry." I shrugged.

"Hey, do either of you know a navigator?" Luffy asked. "I need one for my crew."

"Who's in your crew already?" I asked back. "Shouldn't a navigator be the first person you get?"

"It only me and one other person, I just started my journey." Luffy answered.

"Well, Nami here is an amazing navigator." I said. "What do you think Nami, should we join them?"

"No! I refuse to join a pirate crew!" Nami yelled, surprising Luffy and me. "The things I hate most in this world are pirates! I only like money and tangerines!"

"What am I, chopped liver?" I asked sarcastically.

"I barely know you, we just met!" Nami said.

"So? I just met Luffy and I already like him." I responded. "You two are the only people I know in this entire world."

"What about us?" Angela and Demona demanded.

_"You two go without saying, you're voices in my head."_ I thought to them.

"Hey, come on, become our navigator." Luffy asked again.

"You think I'm crazy?" Nami demanded. "Shut up you dumb pirate!"

Nami turned from us, then quickly turned back looking happy about something.

"Actually, on second thought I will join you guys." She said. "But on one condition."

"What is it?" Luffy asked, excited at having a navigator.

"You have to come with me to Buggy's base." Nami answered.

"Ok, let's go." Luffy said, starting to leave the house. "Where is it?"

"Aah…hang on a second, I've got one more thing to prepare." Nami said, looking surprised at Luffy's immediate acceptance of the condition.

"What's the rope for?" I asked, following them out the door.

"It's just a rope, you don't need to worry about it." Nami said, waving me off.

* * *

_"Apparently she was lying."_ I thought.

"You think?" Demona said sarcastically.

During the trip to Buggy's hideout, Nami tied Luffy and I together. We struggled to get out, but couldn't move enough. She dragged us to Buggy himself and turned us over to him, saying we were her bosses and that she was tired of working for us.

Looking at Buggy, I couldn't tell whether I should be intimidated of amused. He had an impressive stature, decked out in expensive looking clothes. The intended effect was ruined somewhat by the parade of colors and the clown makeup on his face. Not to mention his big red nose.

Buggy immediately took a liking to her, locking us in a cage before starting a party to celebrate his new crew member. Food and drink seemingly appeared from nowhere in large amounts, while Luffy and I were stuck with hardly enough room to sit up, let alone stand.

"Oh man, that looks tasty." Luffy remarked, looking at the party.

"I know it does, but focus." I said. "We need to find a way out."

"If we weren't tied together, I could break the cage." Luffy said.

"…Maybe we still can." I said, thinking of a plan. "But we'll need to work together."

"It's not going to work." Demona said.

"Be quiet, at least he's thinking of something." Angela scolded.

"Are you so desperate that you'll work with a pirate?" Nami asked, suddenly crouching next to our cage. "Not that I'm surprised, you are a criminal as well."

"Nami, what the hell!" I demanded angrily. "Why did you hand us over to a madman like this?"

"Don't worry, I'll keep them drinking until they're all unconscious." Nami explained with a smirk. "Then I'll steal all their stuff and let you out, and we can go our separate ways."

"Can you get us some food at least." Luffy asked.

Nami left and came back with some pieces of meat, feeding us.

"You, you're a nice person." Luffy decided between bites. "I guess I'll let you join our crew."

"I don't want to, you idiot!" Nami yelled, walking away angrily.

"Luffy, put your feet on the bars." I instructed, doing the same myself. "We'll push against each other and break them."

"Good idea." Luffy said, getting into position.

"On three." I said. "One…two…three!"

We forced ourselves together, struggling to break out of our tiny prison. I felt something start to give around the same time my leg started to hurt, realizing too late that those facts were related to each other. I cried bloody murder as my left shin cracked and splintered out of my leg. Without my counter-balance, all of Luffy's force exploded against me and pressed me against the side of the cage, dislocating my shoulder in the process.

"I told you it wouldn't work." Demona mocked.

"Don't be like that!" Angela scolded again. "Kendrick is in pain right now!"

"What happened?" Luffy asked. "Are you alright?"

"No, my fucking leg broke!" I growled, trying to fight the pain. "And you fucked up my arm."

"I'm sorry, it was an accident!" Luffy said, defending himself.

"It's okay, not your fault." I said. "But now I'm out of ideas."

"_~Bwahahaha!~_ Trying to escape are you?" A voice laughed.

We looked out the bars and saw Buggy standing next to us, drink in hand.

"Unfortunately for you your fate has already been decided." He said, smiling evilly at us.

"Oh, you're going to let us go?" Luffy asked.

"Yeah I'm letting you go…you think I'm stupid!" Buggy yelled. "Boys! Prepare the Buggy Ball!"

His crew cheered and wheeled out a cannon, loading it with a ball that had Buggy's pirate mark on it. They aimed it at a nearby house and fired, resulting in a cataclysmic explosion that demolished at least ten houses in a row.

"Wow, that's awesome." Demona remarked.

"Awesome!" Angela repeated angrily. "Those people's homes were destroyed! How is that 'awesome'!"

I heard Luffy gasp in shock as I gasped in pain, my shin resetting itself with a sickening crack and my shoulder popping back into place.

"The power is so great, it can wipe out a whole village in a single shot! This and my Devil Fruit powers will assure my success on the Grand Line!" Buggy bragged while his crew aimed the cannon at us. "Now, shoot the cannon Nami! And swear upon this your loyalty and sincerity of the desire to rule the world with me! Get rid of your old bosses once and for all!"

Nami looked shocked, and started sweating nervously.

"N…No! I don't think that's necessary!" She exclaimed, clearly not wanting to do it. "More importantly…ah, yes! Drink! Let's drink! Let's just ignore those two!"

"Kill them." Buggy ordered with finality, a crazed look on his face.

Nami gasped in surprise while Buggy's crew cheered her on to kill us. She stood still, seemingly afraid to move as she made her decision. Her hand that held the matches trembled profusely while the rest of her stood completely still.

"Your hand is shaking." Luffy remarked. "A pirate on the seas swears an oath to themselves, and you lack the strength for that oath."

"Pirate oath. I wonder what it is…killing innocent people like insects?" Nami responded. "Is that the pirate's oath?"

"No, it's not." Luffy answered. "It's the idea of being strong enough to risk your life!"

"The kid has some good ideals." Demona remarked.

Apparently tired of waiting, a pirate walked up to Nami and took the matches from her. Lighting the cannon himself, he earned a whack from Nami's staff for his trouble and was knocked unconscious.

"Nami, you idiot! What the hell do you think you're doing!" Buggy demanded. "I gave you the honor of lighting the cannon's fuse because you're supposed to be my crew member!"

"Nami! You're saving us!" I exclaimed, happy she changed her mind.

"You idiot, shut up! I didn't do it to save you, I just won't allow myself to become anything like an evil pirate!" Nami shouted. "Pirates stole the life of someone precious to me, I hate pirates more than anything!"

"So that's why you don't like pirates." Luffy remarked.

"I wouldn't either." I agreed. "But we have more pressing matters right now, like the fact the fuse is still burning!"

"Crap!" Luffy shouted. "We're going to die!"

"He might, but we'll make it." Demona said.

"We can't just let him die, we have to do something." Angela said, sounding concerned.

"Quick, Luffy, turn us around!" I ordered, moving us so I was between Luffy and the cannon.

"Now what!" He asked hurriedly, assuming I had a plan.

"Now we hope my body protects you from the blast." I said.

"I want to go on record that I think this is a terrible idea." Demona stated.

"…Wait, what!" Luffy exclaimed, realizing what I was doing. "Why would you do that! Turn us back around!"

"No, I'm doing this to protect you." I replied. "The cannon won't do anything permanent to me, but it'll obliterate you. If I do this then you might have a chance to survive."

"What about your dream?" Luffy argued. "You can't give it up now!"

"I'm not!" I argued back. "I told you, the cannon can't kill me!"

"…Are you sure?" Luffy asked.

"Yes." I answered. _"I think."_

"Alright, I'll trust you." Luffy relented. "Thanks."

"Don't worry about it." I replied, getting comfortable.

I closed my eyes, waiting for the blast to come. Nothing happened. I risked a peek,and saw Nami with her hands around the whisk, being charged down my some pirates.

"Nami!" I shouted. "Look out!"

Right before they got to her, the pirates were repelled by someone wielding swords.

"Just how many of you are charging one girl?" The figure asked, forcing the pirates back.

"Zoro!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Did you get hurt?" The Zoro guy asked Nami.

"I'm…I'm alright." She replied, surprised.

"Thank goodness, you actually found this place." Luffy said, grinning. "Get us outta this, quick."

"You! Is this your idea of fun?" Zoro asked. "You get caught by a bird and got carried away, and now when I finally find you you're locked in a cage. Stupid!"

Zoro stopped looking past me and turned his focus to myself.

"Who's the kid?" He asked. "Did you rope him into joining you as well?"

"Unless he convinces Nami he hasn't." I reply. "I'm sticking with her."

Nami got a sheepish and guilty look on her face, turning away from us.

"Hey…did that kid just say Zoro?" One of the pirates asked.

"The pirate hunter? Why is he talking to a thief?" Another continued.

"You're defiantly Zoro." Buggy confirmed. "Are you aiming for my head?"

"No, I've no interest in that." Zoro answered. "I'm no longer a pirate hunter, I've quit."

"But I have some interest, if I kill you then my name will become even more famous." Buggy threatened.

"If you don't want to die, then just leave me alone." Zoro said calmly.

"Ooh, kill him Captain!" One of the pirates cheered.

"If you don't show your true skills, you'll soon be covered in blood!" Buggy cried, charging Zoro with large knifes between his fingers.

"Fine, if that's what you want." Zoro growled, suddenly wielding three swords by carrying one between his teeth.

With a seemingly effortless attack, Zoro rushed past Buggy and left him in pieces. Literally. The Captain's left arm and leg were cut off, and his hip was sliced in twain. His body collapsed to the ground, still as death.

"That…was anticlimactic." I remarked.

"Yeah, and he was super easy to beat as well." Luffy agreed.

I looked at Buggy's body, confused.

_"That was too easy for all the hype he played up."_ I thought. _"There must be something we're missing."_

"Or it's something he's missing." Demona remarked. "Look closer."

_"I don't see…any blood?"_ I realized. _"Why isn't he bleeding?"_

Buggy's crew started laughing as if someone told a joke, one that we didn't get.

"Zoro, be careful!" I called out. "Something's wrong here, he's not bleeding!"

Zoro turned to see what I was talking about, barely having enough time to deflect the knife that flew at him.

"What the hell!" He exclaimed. "The hand…is floating in the air!"

Zoro was right, holding the knife was a Mr. Thing style severed hand. It was hovering in the air just above the swordsman, drifting about lazily.

"The Chop Chop Fruit." A voice said, turning out to be Buggy piecing himself back together. "That's the name of the Devil fruit I have eaten! No matter how many times you slice me up, I can just piece myself back together!"

"That guy's a monster!" Luffy exclaimed.

"You red-nosed asshole!" I shouted. "That was a dirty trick you tried to pull!"

"But a smart one." Demona said. "We'll have to remember it for later."

"Hopefully we won't have to resort to such tactics." Angela remarked.

Everyone became deathly silent, Buggy looking enraged about something.

"How dare you!" Buggy shouted, launching one of his knifes at me.

Unable to dodge it, the blade sunk into my neck with ease. I gagged and spluttered as blood started flowing from my wound. It would be a simple heal, but the knife had to be taken out first.

"Kendrick! Try not to move too much. Take deep, slow breaths and don't panic." Angela instructed, sounding scared.

"Kendrick!" Luffy exclaimed. "I swear, I'm going to take you down Buggy!"

"_~Puhahahahahaha!~_ You're going to take me down?" Buggy laughed. "You're hilarious, you three are going to die right here on the spot!"

All of a sudden Luffy started laughing, something Buggy picked up on.

"So, you have the will to die Straw-Hat?" Buggy mocked. "And just exactly how do you plan to take me down in this situation? Laugh at him boys!"

"Run away!" Luffy ordered. "Zoro!"

"What?" Zoro exclaimed, confused.

"Your friend came to rescue you, but you're telling him to run away? What about you?" Nami asked.

Luffy didn't say anything, but did something to convey a message to Zoro. The swordsman ran toward the cannon, deflecting attacks from Buggy on his way. Once he made it there he grabbed the barrel and flipped it over, aiming it at Buggy and his men.

"He pointed the cannon in our direction!" The pirates exclaimed.

"That thing still has a Buggy Ball in it!" The clown captain shouted.

Zoro and Nami relit the cannon, Buggy and his crew disappearing amongst the resulting smoke and debris.

"This is a good time to go." Zoro decided, turning to Nami. "Who are you anyways?"

"I…I'm a thief." She answered.

"What about him?" Zoro asked, pointing to me.

"He…was a friend I suppose." Nami answered. "I didn't want it to go like this, both of you were supposed to make it."

"There's no time to be sad, we need to move." Luffy said. "We're going to have to mourn later."

"Let's go then." Zoro said, grabbing the cage and slowly lifting it over his shoulder.

"How…" Nami said, amazed at the feat of strength.

"Let's get out of here." Zoro said, running off with us.

* * *

A couple of minutes later he decided to stop, thinking we were far enough.

"We escaped, but this cage is a problem." Luffy said. "Zoro, can you cut it open?"

"No, the bars are made of steel." Zoro answered. "But I can untie you."

The moment the rope fell away, my hands flew up and pulled the blade from my throat. Zoro and Luffy gasped in surprise while I coughed up the blood that had been filling my lungs, rubbing my sore neck.

"Kendrick! You're alive!" Luffy exclaimed happily.

"_~cough, cough-cough.~_ Yep, I sure am. _~cough~_" I struggled to get out.

"How is that possible?" Zoro wondered aloud.

"It was part of my punishment, but now it's my saving grace." I answered. "It's ironic really."

"I'm just glad you're alive." Luffy grinned.

"I am too." I said, grinning back.

"What's up with this dog?" Zoro asked.

Luffy and I turned and saw that there was in fact a dog, sitting still and looking straight ahead like a statue. It had light fur and was fairly small.

"Is it really a dog?" Luffy asked. "It's not moving at all."

"What the dog does is it's business." Zoro said. "Right now you got to think of a way out of that cage."

"I wonder if he's dead." Luffy remarked, poking the dog in the eye.

In retaliation, the dog bit Luffy in the face and then latched onto his hand.

"That's what he gets for messing with it." Demona laughed.

"Don't be mean." Angela scolded.

"Stupid dog, let me go!" Luffy cried, struggling to get the dog off of him.

"Luffy, stop playing around!" Zoro yelled.

"Look at you guys." Nami said, catching up with us. "Not to criticize, but is the middle of the street really the best hiding place you could find?"

"Nami!" I exclaimed. "You came back!"

"I don't know why you're still happy to see her, she almost killed us about three times now." Demona remarked.

"Kendrick's just more forgiving that you." Angela stated. "But Demona does have a point, perhaps you should be careful around her."

"I just wanted to thank you for saving me." She said, throwing something on the ground. "I should be shocked at seeing you alive, but after seeing you grow back an arm I'm not that surprised."

"The key! You stole the key to the cage!" Luffy cheered.

"Yeah, but I left behind the map and treasure." Nami huffed, disappointed.

"This is great, we can finally get out of here." I said.

My joy was quickly cut short when the dog ate the key. For a moment, everyone was too shocked to do anything. Then me and Luffy grabbed the dog and shook him, trying to get him to cough up the key.

"Hey, you brats!" A voice called out. "Don't pick on Shushu!"

We looked to see an older man in leather armor walking toward us, a spear on his back.

"Who're you?" Zoro asked.

"Who am I?" The man replied. "I'm the mayor of this town, that's who!"

"Can you help us? We're trapped in the cage and the dog ate the key." I asked.

"Sorry, I'm not doing anything to hurt Shushu." The mayor said. "You'll have to find another way out."

"Why's he the only one left in town?" Luffy asked.

"He's watching the shop." The mayor explained. "I'm just here to feed him."

"So he's a guard dog for a pet food store…" Zoro remarked.

"A good friend of mine owned this store, about ten years ago he and Shushu opened this little shop." The mayor continued. "They've got lots of good memories, and so do I. See these bruises? He's been fighting with the pirates to protect his store."

"Scrappy little mutt." Demona remarked.

"I bet whoever owns him is proud." Angela said.

"I'm sure this shop means a lot to his master, but this is just cruel." Nami said. "Is his owner at the refugee center with the others?"

"No, he's not. He got sick and died." The mayor replied. "He went to the hospital three months ago."

"So he's been waiting for his master all this time?" I asked, feeling sorry for Shushu.

"Oh, poor thing." Angela said, sounding down.

"That's what everybody says, but that's not what I think." The mayor answered. "He's a smart dog, I think he knows his master is dead."

"So why does he still guard the store?" Nami asked.

"I think he does because it's all he has left of his beloved master." The mayor replied. "It's his treasure."

"It's just like your hat, Luffy." I remarked.

"Yeah, it is." He responded, looking at the dog with a strange look on his face.

"I've been trying to get him to the shelter, but he won't leave this spot." The mayor continued. "He'd rather starve to death then leave his post."

Suddenly a monstrous roar filled the air, scaring Nami and the mayor.

"What the hell was that!" Nami screamed.

"I-it must be Mohji the Beast Tamer! Run!" The mayor shouted.

Nami and the mayor ran off, leaving Luffy, Zoro and I by ourselves. Soon after they ran and hid, a strange looking man riding a lion walked up to us. The guy had on some kind of fur hat and shirt, making him look like some sort of furry.

"Well, what have we here…" The man said. "I am Mohji the Beast Tamer, First Mate of Captain Buggy, and I have been sent to defeat Roronoa Zoro and his comrades!"

Zoro gripped his blades while Luffy tensed up.

"Why are you wearing such a stupid hat?" I asked, getting an idiotic idea.

"This is stupid." Demona argued against my plan.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to agree with Demona, this doesn't seem like a good idea." Angela continued.

"This is my natural hair!" Mohji yelled at me, enraged.

"Oh, so did your mom fuck a bear?" I asked, sounding innocent. "Or was it your dad?"

Mohji and his lion froze, processing what I said. It finally made it through their minds, and they both gave me a look of death.

"Why you!" Mohji cried. "Richie! Kill him!"

I pushed Luffy and I against the edge of the cage as Mohji's lion brought his paw down on it, but there wasn't enough room and the beast caught me by the leg. He slammed me against the ground a few times before flicking me away so that I skipped across the ground. I finally came to a stop a few houses away, most of my bones broken and my ribs tearing up my lungs.

"Kendrick!" A voice exclaimed, turning out to be Nami when I slowly turned my head.

"Hey there." I struggled to get out, lungs useless.

"Kid, don't talk!" The mayor said. "I'll go get the doctor and-"

"Don't." I interrupted, sounding clearer now that my ribs readjusted enough for my lungs to close up. "I'll be ok."

"Ok!" Nami yelled. "Your arm is bent the wrong way and your leg is sticking out your knee!"

In that moment, my arm snapped back into place and my bone sunk back into my thigh. I turned over and coughed up some blood as I hesitantly stood, most of the damage fixed.

"See? Told you I'd be fine." I said, turning to look at them.

Instead of answering, the mayor fainted while Nami looked a little green.

"What's wrong, is there something on my face?" I asked, reaching up to wipe my mouth.

I was surprised to not in fact feel my lips, but hair. I rubbed around confused and then realized that I was touching that back of my head, my head backwards from its natural place. The skin around my neck righted itself, and my head finally snapped back around. I stumbled a bit from the sudden shift in perspective, but then turned around to find that Nami had fainted as well.

"I hope they're ok." Angela remarked, worried.

With a sigh and bent down and picked them up, one over each shoulder, and carried them back to Zoro and Luffy. When I got their they appeared to be waiting for us, the Mohji guy already gone.

"I'm guessing you guys beat Mohji." I said, setting Nami and the mayor down carefully.

"Yeah, it was real easy too." Luffy remarked.

"Once we defeated his lion, he quickly gave up." Zoro continued.

"Are you sure it was a good idea to let him go?" I asked. "What if he tells Buggy wh-"

Before I could finish, a massive explosion knocked us to the ground. The pet shop and surrounding buildings were torn to splinters, and Shushu was launched into my gut. I sat up and looked around to see if everyone was ok, only to notice that the still unconscious Nami and mayor were about to be crushed by a section of wall.

I rushed over and caught it just as it was about to hit them, almost buckling beneath the weight.

"Nami! Mayor! It would be a good idea to wake up now!" I yelled at them.

"Stop putting us in these situations!" Demona screamed at me. "I'm tired of getting hurt today!"

"Kendrick's doing a noble thing, something you wouldn't understand." Angela argued back. "These are his only friends, we can't let them get hurt."

"We can though, it would be really easy!" Demona countered, being ignored.

Nami and the mayor started to wake up, looking around confused until they noticed their predicament. They quickly crawled out from under the wall, scared out of their minds. With a mighty heave I lifted the wall further off the ground, diving to the ground out of the way as it came crashing down.

I panted and turned around, inspecting the damage. Pieces of houses laid strewn about, the pet shop looking no different from any other wreckage except for Shushu sitting before it. I stood, watching as the dog barked in misery at having his treasure taken from him. I turned to look at the others, Nami and the mayor looking aghast while Luffy looked determined about something.

"Stupid pirates, destroying everything precious to others." Nami said, turning to Luffy and Zoro. "Why don't you all just go to hell!"

I run to Nami and grabbed her, stopping her from attacking Zoro and Luffy.

"Let go of me!" Nami ordered, hitting me. "I won't let these pirate get away with this."

"Neither will we, right Luffy?" I said, not letting go.

"That's right." Luffy answered.

Nami stopped struggling, so I let her go and walked towards Luffy.

"This is just so miserable! My town is being destroyed, and I'm sitting here doing nothing about it!" The mayor suddenly exclaimed. "Well no more! We worked hard to build this village up from nothing, and I won't stand around any longer!"

"Wait, calm down mayor!" Nami said.

"To a real man, there are some fights that can't be avoided!" The mayor continued. "This town and it's citizens are my treasures! I'm the mayor, and I won't let this travesty go on any longer!"

"The guy's got guts, I'll give him that." Demona remarked.

"He must care a lot about his people to fight like this for them." Angela continued.

"Won't you join us?" Luffy asked Nami. "You need his map don't you?"

"…I'm not going to become a pirate." Nami answered. "Rather than saying we're 'partners', let's say we're 'cooperating'. Working together to achieve our goals."

"What about me?" I asked.

"I suppose you'd be useful to keep around some more." Nami smirked. "So you can stay."

"I can't wait to make her ours." Demona cooed, filling my head with devious thoughts.

"You stop that!" Angela ordered. "I won't have you influencing Kendrick in such a way."

"Don't be like that, I know you think she's cute as well. The same goes for Luffy." Demona remarked mirthfully.

"Perhaps, but your plans are far too uncouth." Angela countered. "That kind of relationship should nurtured and consensual, not forced like some kind of…animal!"

"Then we better get going, shouldn't we?" I said, ignoring both of them and turning to the pet store. "What about you Shushu? Want in on this as well?"

Shushu barked and caught up with us, our motley crew heading toward Buggy's.

"What are we going to do when we get there?" Nami asked.

"We're going to kick Buggy's ass." Luffy answered, grinning.

* * *

We returned to Buggy's hideout, stopping outside the doors.

"You guys can fight, but I'm going to go steal the treasure and map." Nami said.

"Alright, be careful." I said, crouching low to the ground.

"What are you doing?" Zoro asked, wrapping a bandana around his head.

"Getting us in." I answered, taking a deep breath and charging.

I bared down on the entrance, crashing into the two large doors with all my force. I felt my shoulder crack, but the doors gave none the less and flew open. Buggy and his crew looked at us, surprised at our entrance. The others caught up as my shoulder mended itself, and we walked into the compound.

"What are you doing here!" Buggy demanded, recovering quickly. "You're all supposed to be dead!"

"Did you really think a simple neck wound was going to do me in?" I laughed.

"I've kept my promise, and have come to beat you!" Luffy declared.

"Have you now?" Buggy said, turning a confused look to the mayor and Shushu. "Why is there an old guy and a dog accompanying you?"

"We are here because you've trampled over our treasure for too long!" The mayor yelled, Shushu barking in agreement. "My name is Boodle, and I won't let you hurt this town any longer!"

"What an idiot!" Buggy laughed. "The word 'treasure' brings to mind the thoughts of gold, silver and jewels. The owner has to have some sense of dignity and pride about owning it before calling it a treasure! The village is your treasure? What a bunch of meaningless words!"

"How dare you say that about their home!" I roared, charging Buggy's crew.

"I hope this won't become a trigger for him." Demona sighed.

With that, the battle commenced. I rammed full-force into the first pirate in my way, flipping him over my shoulder undeterred and punching the next one in the face. Keeping my flow going I slid between the legs of another pirate and grabbed them, spinning him around before throwing him into the crowd. I dodged a sword swipe and uppercutted the offender, laying him out. I donkey-kicked a pirate behind me and caught the arm of a different one that swung at me, flipping him into the ground.

At this point a small group had gathered around me, the leftovers fighting the combined might of Mayor Boodle and Shushu. I could see Zoro fighting a strange-looking swordsman on a unicycle while Luffy went after Buggy himself. It was then I heard a roar and turned to see the lion from before charging me. As it got closer, I crouched down and jumped in the air, drop kicking it in the face when it reached me. The lion was staggered for a moment, so I took the opportunity to slide down its back and grab it's tail, starting to spin it around. As the beast picked up speed, I took steps as I spun to start hitting some of the pirates around me before letting go and allowing the animal to sail over the hideout's wall and into the sea.

I slid into a southpaw stance and stepped toward one of the pirates still standing, jabbing him in the face until he fell down. I dodged another sword and landed a left hook into the ribs of the attacker, breaking one or two of them. I danced through Buggy's crew, punching and countering their attack until only three were left. I grabbed the closest one and punched him, dazing him enough so that I could slide around to his back and suplex him. I then slid back around to his front, picking him up and throwing him into the other two. I ran toward them and jumped, bringing my elbows down on their faces to knock them out.

I stood a looked over at Boodle and Shushu, who were doing fairly well for an old man and a dog. I ran over to help them, and together we finished off the last of the pirates.

"We did it!" Boodle cheered, Shushu howling encouragement. "We shaved the village!"

"Not yet." I said, interrupting their celebration. "There's still Buggy to worry about."

We heard the clashing of swords and turned to see Zoro and the unicycle guy in a deadlock. The unicycle man suddenly jumped in the air, and Buggy's hand shot toward Zoro at the same time.

"Cabaji! I hold Zoro in place, so finish him off!" Buggy ordered.

Before his hand could reach, however, Luffy stomped it into the ground, causing Buggy to cry out in pain.

"Don't interfere with Zoro's fight!" Luffy yelled, grinning.

The unicycle guy, Cabaji, fell from the sky and flew toward Zoro who dodged him easily, kicking the unicycle from under him in retaliation.

"I'm tired of being the opponent of someone with such pitiful skills." Zoro remarked.

"Then let me finish you off now, with my real sword skills!" Cabaji yelled, charging Zoro.

"**Oni**…" Zoro said, crouching down. "**Giri**!"

In a burst of energy Zoro exploded past Cabaji who stopped moving and collapsed to the ground, bleeding from the wounds that suddenly appeared all over him.

"Dammit, beaten by a common thief." He said, falling over. "How shameful."

"Not a common thief, but a pirate" Zoro corrected, taking off his bandana and sheathing swords. "Luffy, I'm going to take a nap."

"Alright, I'll take care of Buggy." Luffy said as Zoro walked off.

"You mean you guys are pirates!" Buggy exclaimed.

"Yeah!" Luffy confirmed. "Now hand over the map of the Grand Line."

"So that's what you're after. A couple of weak, no-name pirates like yourselves won't last a day in the grand line!" Buggy said. "What do you plan to do there! Go sight-seeing!"

"I'm gonna be the King of the Pirates." Luffy answered.

Buggy got a strange look on his face, then suddenly became enraged.

"Don't be a flashy idiot! If you're the Pirate King, then that makes me God!" He screamed. "All the treasure in the world will belong to me, so forget about it!"

"Okay, so hurry up and attack me." Luffy replied. "I'm getting bored."

"I'm liking this kid more and more." Demona laughed, apparently excited for the fight.

"You're going to eat your words rubber-boy." Buggy growled.

Buggy then paused for a moment, looking. Like he just realized something.

"Your hat reminds me of someone I knew when I was younger." Buggy remarked. "That red-haired idiot."

"Red hair?" Luffy echoed. "Are you talking about Shanks? Do you know him?"

"You seem real interested in him." Buggy said. "Yeah I know him, what's it to you."

"Where is he now?" Luffy asked.

"You'd like to know, huh? Well maybe I know…" Buggy said. "Then again, maybe I don't!"

"What are you talking about?" Luffy asked, confused. "Are you an idiot?"

"Watch your tongue, you bastard!" Buggy yelled. "We're mortal enemies, you won't be getting any information out of me without a fight. Not even as a parting gift to hell."

"Good thing I'm willing to beat it out of you." Luffy announced, grinning.

"_~Ga Ha Ha Ha!~_ It's to bad really, but you'll be dead before you get a single word out of me!" Buggy declared, tapping his feet on the ground to activate hidden blades. "Not even a rubber will be able to withstand the blade of my knife!"

I could tell things were about to pop off so I turned around and grabbed Boodle and Shushu, running off with them.

"What are you doing!" Boodle demanded. "Put me down!"

"It's too dangerous for you two." I said, putting them down outside Buggy's hideout. "Whatever you do, don't come back in here."

I rushed back to the fight, making it back in time to see Luffy fly past Buggy with his arm sticking out, forcing the clown pirate to pop his head off to avoid it. The part of it that surprised me was Luffy's other arm, it was stretched ahead of him latched on to a house. It seemed to be what was pulling Luffy, but proved to be too effective as Luffy crashed into the house he was pulling against. I rushed over to the rubble just as Luffy burst from the wreckage, no injuries of any kind to be seen.

"Luffy, how the hell did you do that!" I demanded, surprised. "What happened to your arm?"

"I'm a rubber-man." Luffy answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "See?"

To prove his point Luffy stretched out his cheek to outrageous proportions, then let it snap back.

"Oh…bully." I said, backing up to get out of his way.

"How am I supposed to hit you when you keep flying into pieces?" Luffy remarked.

"**Chop Chop Cannon!**" Buggy yelled, shooting a hand full of knives at Luffy.

Luffy caught the hand right before it hit him, but it separated again and cut the side of his face as they flew past. Luffy fell to the ground, holding his hat.

"Damn you!" Luffy growled, looking furious.

"What's the matter?" Buggy asked mockingly. "Would you rather that I scratch your face?"

"That does it!" Luffy continued, a scary look on his face. "You ripped my hat!"

"I didn't think the kid could get that angry." Demona remarked, sounding impressed.

"So?" Buggy asked, uncaring.

"THIS HAT IS MY TREASURE!" Luffy exploded. "NOBODY CAN HURT IT!"

"It really means a lot to you, huh?" Buggy remarked, grinning.

"That's right!" Luffy replied.

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed something moving, looking to see Buggy's hand floating in the air. It threw one of the knifes it had between it fingers, Luffy hearing it and dodging in time. Buggy's fist then zoomed forward, the blades aimed right at Luffy's hat. Without a second thought I rushed forward and jumped in the way, taking the blow instead of Luffy's treasure.

"Kendrick!" Someone yelled, I couldn't tell who.

I rolled across the ground from the force of the attack, coming to a sliding stop on my knee. I grabbed Buggy's hand and pulled it out of my chest, stomping it into the ground.

"That was a dirty move." I said. "Going after Luffy's hat like that."

Buggy looked surprised at my sudden recovery, not believing what he was seeing.

"How the hell are you doing that!" Buggy demanded, watching my wounds heal.

"_~hehehe~_ Honestly? I have no idea." I answered with a grin. "It just sort of happens."

"That's bullshit!" Buggy complained. "How am I supposed to beat that!"

"You aren't." I answered. "You're supposed to beat him."

Buggy was confused for a second, then seemed to remember he was fighting Luffy. He looked around for the rubber-boy, but it was too late to avoid Luffy's attack.

Buggy slid across the ground, almost skipping from the strength of Luffy's kick. Luffy walked over and straddled buggy, grabbing him by the face.

"Don't you dare hurt my hat!" Luffy yelled. "It was a gift from Shanks!"

"**Chop Chop**-" Buggy started to say, stopped by Luffy punching his face.

"Don't split apart!" Luffy shouted.

They tousled for a bit on the ground, but eventually Buggy threw Luffy off of himself.

"Never before has anyone made me as mad as Shanks did!" Buggy growled, standing up. "That son of a bitch stole my greatest treasure from me! And I won't forgive him for it."

Buggy told us how he and Shanks used to be on the same pirate crew when they were younger. During an attack on a ship, Buggy had found a treasure map while the others discovered a Devil Fruit. When he learned that they were worth a lot of money, he hatched a plan to steal it by pretending to eat it. I backfired, however, when Shanks accidentally scared Buggy into eating the real fruit. The story ended with Shanks saving Buggy from drowning.

"I swallowed 100 million Beli that day." Buggy seethed. "Now I can't swim, so I can't reach the treasure on the ocean floor."

"Hmm…so shanks saved your life!" Luffy pointed out.

"So what! It was all his fault, he ruined my ultimate plan!" Buggy screamed, splitting from his waist to float in the air. "So I changed it! If I couldn't get all the treasure under the sea, then I would have all the treasure on it using my new Chop Chop powers! I don't care how insignificant you are! If you dare lay one hand on my treasure, I'll fucking kill you!"

With that Buggy launched himself toward Nami, who was in the process of stealing his treasure. I rushed after Buggy, jumping on his back when he was close enough to the ground. I grabbed his head and jerked it around, throwing us of the collision course with Nami so we instead crashed into a nearby building. We rolled out of the wreckage, punching Buggy in the face repeatedly.

"Nami! Run!" I ordered, struggling to keep Buggy grounded.

Nami nodded and ran off, holding a huge sack of treasure above her head. I grabbed Buggy and lifted him in the air, only to slam him back into the ground. Buggy shot of his arms, knives in hand trained on Nami. I let go so I could rush after them, but Buggy latched on to my leg with his teeth to trip me up.

With an activated growl I raised my leg and kicked a building, smashing Buggy's head and forcing him to let go. His arms faltered from the pain just enough to I could catch up to them, grabbing them and dragging them to the ground. Buggy fought back, stabbing me all over to get me to let go.

"ENOUGH!" Buggy roared, tired of being stopped by us. "**Chop Chop Festival!**"

Buggy suddenly burst into a bunch of small parts, escaping from my grasp and rushing Nami.

"Let's see you save your friend now!" Buggy laughed. "Now give back my treasure!"

Buggy's head started chasing after Nami, with me not far behind. Buggy must have started loosing it, because all of a sudden he started laughing like a mad man.

"_~GAH HA HA HA_~ C-Cut that out!" He laughed.

"The hell's wrong with him?" Demona asked, confused.

"Perhaps he's not all there?" Angela offered

His expression changed again, suddenly looking incredibly pained. It then changed a third time, becoming something…something. I couldn't figure out if he was smiling or in pain, his face contorted to strange angles.

"Cut it out! I've had enough!" Buggy roared at Luffy.

"How about this!" Nami exclaimed, stopping suddenly. "Why don't you cut it out!"

Buggy stopped to look at her, reacting quick enough to grab the bag of treasure she swung at him. Them stopping finally gave me a chance to catch up, and I jumped into the air and kicked Buggy's head away from the bag. He sailed into a nearby building and let go of the bag in the process, dropping it to the ground along with Nami.

"Thanks for saving me." Nami said.

"Of course, I wouldn't be a good friend if I did anything otherwise." I replied.

"You bastards!" Buggy screamed, charging us with his knifes.

Before he could reach us, Luffy came from nowhere and blindsided him with a punch. Buggy's head rolled across the ground, coming to a stop a few feet away. Something fell from his trailing coat, so I walked over and picked it up. It was a piece of paper, one that unrolled into a map.

"Hey, is this the Grand-Line map you were looking for?" I asked Luffy and Nami.

"Yeah!" They both answered.

"Now hold on there you bastards!" Buggy said, floating in the air again. "That's my map, and I won't let you take it!"

"You're still alive?" Luffy remarked, sounding annoyed.

"Shut up! I'll kill you!" Buggy yelled. "Come together! **Chop Chop**…"

Buggy didn't finish when he realized something was wrong, only his hands and feet returned to him.

"What!" Buggy exclaimed, confused and surprised.

"Is this what you're looking for?" Nami asked, standing on a bound pile of Buggy's body parts.

"Shit! My body!" Buggy yelled.

"_~Ha Ha Ha Ha!~_ Good job Nami, leave the rest to me!" Luffy laughed, throwing his arms back so that they stretched a long ways.

"Wait!" Buggy begged, scared.

"See ya Buggy! **Gum Gum…**" Luffy said, his arms snapping back. "**Bazooka!**"

Luffy's hands exploded against Buggy's now minuscule body, launching the captain into the air and over the horizon. I grinned at his shrinking form, and figured now was as good a time as any to pass out from exhaustion.


	5. Chapter 4

The darkness is always to first thing to get to me, being completely alone with no sense of…anything really. Just when you can't stand it any more, noises start to trickle in from everywhere and nowhere all at once. Try as you might, you can never decipher what you're hearing. It's just…noise. Soon that too becomes unbearable and then light starts pouring in from inside yourself, burning and comforting all at once. You feel pricks up and down your skin as smells assault your nose. The sensory overload fights on the edge of torturous and blissful, as if waiting for some unseen force to make up its mind. My fate was decided long ago, the light burning as I gagged on the smell of rotting flesh and blood. Tastes of horrid bile and effluvial grime filled my mouth as I thrashed to escape it all.

**"Until we have you back, your dreams are ours!"** Voices said, full of malice and disdain.

I screamed for it to end, twisting and turning in a futile attempt to worm my way out of the sensations.

Then somebody stuck an apple in my mouth.

* * *

"This isn't going to work." A voice said, sounding annoyed.

"Why not?" A familiar voice said. "Food always helps me."

"That's because you're a monster!" A different familiar voice yelled. "Other than his healing, Kendrick is a normal person!…Except for the voices, that's just crazy."

"You be tortured for years and find a better way to cope with it." I said, pulling the apple out of my mouth and swallowing the bite.

I heard various gasps and some people scramble away. It was then I realized my eyes were still closed, so I hesitantly peeked through my lids to see Luffy, Zoro and Shushu looking down at me.

"Where am I?" I asked, taking another bite of the apple.

"At a doctors, the villagers found us and brought you here." Luffy answered. "They were looking for the old guy."

"You mean Boodle?" I asked. "How is he?"

"I'm fine." I heard a voice answer, prompting me to slowly turn my head toward the mayor.

"Good." I replied, attempting to sit up.

I didn't get very far, still too tired to move effectively. The most I got was shifting around a bit.

"Would anybody happen to have some food?" I asked. "Luffy's apple seemed to work."

I heard some rustling, and a piece of meat was offered to me. I slowly took it and started chewing, swallowing and feeling energized in the process. The pain of having pushed my muscles past their limit dulled with each piece of food I ate, and eventually I had enough strength to sit up and stand.

"Well, what are we doing now Nami?" I asked stretching a bit.

Nobody answered, choosing instead to look at me amazed.

"We're leaving soon, have to make it to the Grand-Line after all." Luffy answered, grinning.

"How…" One of the nearby villagers said. "How is that possible? Your muscles were torn apart."

"An apple a day keeps the doctor away." I said, shrugging.

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard." Demona said.

I looked over towards Nami, who sighed in defeat.

"I give up!" She exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air and walking out of the doctors. "I'm done trying to figure you out!"

"Don't be like that." I laughed, following her. "I'm like a puzzle box, once you figure me out there's a prize inside."

"Only in this case the prize is a kid that's a shell of himself, filling out his self-imposed roles with forced personality and 'shoulder conscious' archetypes." Demona remarked.

"All the while fighting the knowledge that if he ever accepts this he'll fall apart at the seams and devolve into broken mess of a being, the reality of what's happened to him crashing down upon him." Angela agreed.

Nami turned to face at me, looking like she was deciding something. Luffy and Zoro caught up with us, carrying large bags with them.

"I'm sorry." Nami said. "About what I did. You trusted me and I used it against you, so I'll understand if you don't want to travel with me any more."

"Nami, you are one of the three people I know in the whole world." I said, putting my hands on her shoulders. "You'll have to do something drastic for me to leave you guys alone."

Nami smiled, seeming happy that I don't hate her.

"Alright then!" She said, turning away and walking off. "Let's set sail."

"Alright, I can't wait!" Luffy giggled, rushing past us.

"That's right, work that ass." Demona cackled fiendishly. "It'll be mine soon enough."

Angela and I sighed in acceptance.

"Can't wait to hear this for the rest of our journey." Angela grumbled.

* * *

We returned to our ship, finding Luffy and Zoro's right by it.

"Convenient." I noted.

Suddenly, the three pirates we had scammed earlier jumped from our ship.

"We've been waiting for you two!" One of them exclaimed.

"Yeah, we knew you'd come back." Another agreed.

"Imagine our surprise when…" The third one started to say, distracted by something.

"You guys again? Why don't you get lost." Zoro said, glaring at them.

In response the three pirates screamed in fear and jumped into the sea, swimming away as fast as they could.

"That was strange." I remarked, taking the bags from Luffy and Zoro.

I put them down on Nami and I's ship, using them a rudimentary chairs.

"Don't sit on my treasure." Nami scolded, pushing me off.

I got up and rubbed my head, unprepared for the shove. I looked at Nami, about to say something until I noticed the face she was making. She looked stuck somewhere between furious and shocked, slowly turning to Luffy.

"There's a bag missing!" She yelled at him. "Where is it!"

"I left it there so I could carry more food." Luffy answered. "And so they could fix their town."

"There was at least half a million Beli in that bag!" Nami shouted, grabbing Luffy to try to force him overboard. "And you gave it away!"

"To be fair, he had a good reason." I defended, stepping between them. "Why do you need that treasure anyway?"

"I need it buy a village." Nami answered, turning away. "I have to collect 100 million Beli."

"That's a lot of money, even for a pirate." Luffy remarked. "It could buy a ton of meat."

"Or Sake." Zoro continued from his place on the ground.

"Why do you need to buy a village?" I asked. "Interested in becoming a-oh shit!"

Before I could finish what I was going to say I slipped when climbing between our two ships, falling into the sea below. The result was instantaneous; I lost total control of my body as water filled my lungs and stomach. I couldn't move an inch, my lungs burning for air as I drifted toward the bottom of the ocean. I heard something enter the water and felt someone grab me, dragging my body back to the surface.

I was flopped back onto the deck, still unable to move. My eyes rolled a bit, making it so I could only see the feet of everyone.

"Kendrick!" Nami exclaimed. "Why isn't he moving!"

Zoro kneeled next to me, leaning close.

"He's not breathing." Zoro announced. "Stand back, you need to give us room."

Zoro pumped my chest a few times, then tried to breathe some air into my lungs. After a few more CPR attempts, Zoro slammed his fist on the deck.

"Dammit, this isn't working!" He growled.

"I have an idea!" Nami said, running off somewhere.

She quickly returned, putting something in my mouth and easing it down my throat. Whatever it was gave me enough power to roll over, allowing me to lean of the ship's edge and hurl up all the sea water in my stomach. I laid there heaving for a few moments, gasping for air in between each wave. I slowly sat up, turning to face the others.

"Some more food would be appreciated." I gasped out, wiping tears from my eyes.

* * *

It was about an hour later that I found myself sitting on the deck, a spare blanket wrapped around me. After I regained my strength, Nami gave me the blanket to cover myself while my clothes dried.

"How are you doing?" Zoro asked, watching for Luffy and Nami.

We had found an island that was supposed to be uninhabited, but Luffy wanted to explore it anyway. Zoro was taking a nap at the time, and I didn't feel up to going, so Nami and Luffy went alone. A sudden noise had woken Zoro, but he decided it must have been nothing as we heard nothing else since then.

"I'm doing fine, thanks." I answered. "It's just…"

Zoro didn't say anything, but turned to look at me.

"I forgot how awful it was. Being trapped in the dark, no air and no way to escape. The burning." I continued quietly. "I forgot how cruel the world can be."

"You say that like you've drowned before." Zoro noted.

"I've down more than drown." I replied. "Crucified, boiled, shredded. I've met my fair share of tortures."

We didn't say anything for a moment or two, then I started talking again.

"I suppose if I think about it, things turned out pretty good." I continued, a small smile on my face. "All things considered, it could have gone far worse for me. I did meet you guys after all, didn't I?"

Zoro nodded in agreement, the smile on his face saying everything.

"I think I'm going to go for a walk." I said, standing up and jumping down to the ground.

I was about to walk away, but hesitated.

"Hey Zoro." I called, getting his attention. "Thanks for listening."

He nodded again and leaned back, I assume to get a nap. I walked along the beach, feeling better about things.

* * *

I had been walking for a while now, and was about to head back when I noticed a cave entrance along the sand.

"I don't think it's a good idea to go in there." Angela said as I walked closer.

"It's just a cave, what harm ever came from entering a cave?" I asked.

"What harm ever came from reading a book!" Angela countered.

"I don't thing there's going to be many mummies on an island like this." Demona said. "Let's see what's inside."

I walked in, brushing some webs out of my way. Cracks in the ceiling illuminated the tunnel, which became more and more open as I followed it. Eventually the cave opened up into a large cavern, a skylight showing a large chest in the center of it.

"_~oooh~_ Maybe there's treasure in it!" Demona exclaimed giddily.

I walked closer and grabbed the lid, struggling to open it for a moment until it snapped off its hinges. The reason quickly became apparent, a mixture of rust and webs raining down on me.

"I'm glad we got dressed before we left." Angela remarked sarcastically as I brushed myself off.

"So we're a little dirty, who cares?" Demona responded. "What's inside?"

I peeked into the chest, disappointed to find nothing inside.

"_~aww~_ That sucks." Demona said, disappointed.

"There, you two have had your fun." Angela said. "Can we go now."

I turned to leave, stopping when I noticed something moving at the edge of the light. I walked over to inspect it, finding what looked like a rock jostling around. As I leaned closer, cracks appeared and pieces fell away to reveal a spider about the size of my hand. The spider scrambled about a bit, but finally dragged itself out of its egg to look at me. I gingerly reached my hand down to pick it up, the spider taking the opportunity to crawl up my arm and around me before finally deciding to settle itself on my shoulder.

"Hey little guy, aren't you friendly." I remarked, laughing a bit. "Have me confused for your mother perhaps?"

The spider turned to face something behind me, making a hissing sound. I turned as well, finding something that nearly stopped my heart. A group of five or six dog-sized spiders had amassed behind me, making a ring that trapped me against the wall.

"Hey there guys, sorry for breaking into your house." I laughed nervously, backing up slightly.

"I told you not to come in here!" Angela declared angrily. "But you didn't listen to me!"

One of the spiders hissed at me, freezing me in my tracks. More cracking sounds prompted me to look behind myself, seeing more spiders hatch from their eggs. They crawled from their eggs and over to the bigger spiders, climbing on their backs. I slowly edged around the cave towards the entrance, taking extra care to not step on an egg or baby spider. The bigger ones backed up a bit to allow me through, but hissed threateningly when I started to leave. I was confused for a moment, then realized that the first spider was still on my shoulder.

I reached up and plucked it off me, gently setting the little thing on the ground. The spider seemed hesitant to go toward its brethren, but scampered over none the less. One of the big spiders twisted around it, as if inspecting it for damage, then hissed angrily before suddenly punting it away. All the other spiders suddenly turned on it, herding it back toward me with hisses and clacking mandibles. We were driven back out of the cave, the spiders heading back in once we had completely left it.

I looked down at the spider, feeling guilty. I must have done something that pissed of the bigger ones, and now it had no-where to go.

"Sucks for it." Demona remarked. "Let's head back to the ships."

"We can't just leave it alone, we need to do something." Angela said.

I thought for a moment, then kneeled down next to the arachnid.

"Sorry about getting you disowned." I said. "Why don't you come with me and my friends, it'll be fun."

I don't think it understood me, but the spider crawled back up to my shoulder none the less. I heard a laugh nearby, turning to see two women watching me. They were both wearing large concealing cloaks, the only distinguishing feature was that the one to my right had a guitar case with her.

"Hello." I said. "I didn't know anyone lived here."

"We don't." The one on the left answered. "We were just visiting, making sure things fall into place."

"That makes you sound like you're plotting." I noted, standing up. "What's your story?"

"You'll figure that out for yourself, but for now we have a gift for you." The one on the right said.

The left one walked forward and took my hand, placing something in it.

"Someone special to me gave me this, may it protect you on your journey." She said.

I looked at what she gave me, finding a necklace. It had a thin, black rope connected to a silver pendant that was the shape of a guitar pick.

"Thank you, but I can't take this." I said. "If someone special gave it to you, you shouldn't give it to a stranger."

"You're never a stranger to me, Kendrick." The woman replied, causing me to look up in shock.

I was surprised to see that they were gone, vanished as suddenly as they appeared. I looked around for them, but couldn't find a trace or clue as to they were. I shrugged and put on the necklace, a sense of clarity and peace overtaking me as I headed to the ships.

* * *

I returned to find the others waiting for me, Luffy and Nami back from their excursion.

"Here." Zoro said, handing me an envelope.

"What's this?" I asked, looking it over.

"Two girls were here earlier, they asked us to give this to you." Nami answered, looking pensive about something.

I opened the envelope, finding a letter of all things. Who'd of thunk it?

"Dear Kendrick,"

It read.

"Sorry we couldn't stay and chat, but we had business to take care of. I'm sure you're wondering who we were, but you'll have to find that out on your own. For now all we can give you this advice. Live for now. Things are only going to get more difficult from here, and you'll never live life without regrets, so try to have a good time. If you ever think that you're asking too much, or if a little voice tells you that you're being too greedy, tell that voice to go fuck itself. You've done your time, and now is your chance to make up for it. This world, and any others, owe you their awe. Make sure they give it to you.

Sincerely,

A friend.

P.S.

The chain was a stupid idea, try something more practical."

I had to smile at the letter, a small chuckle escaping me. I folded it back up and slid it into my pocket, looking up in time to stop Nami's staff from hitting me again.

"Oh come on!" I exclaimed, jumping back slightly. "What did I do this time!"

"Hold still, there's a spider on you!" Nami responded, taking another swing.

"I know there is!" I grunted, dodging the swipe. "I put it there!"

Nami stopped trying to kill my new pet long enough to glare at me.

"What." She said, deadpan.

"It's my new friend." I continued, picking the spider up and holding it out. "I accidentally made it an orphan, so I'm taking responsibility."

Nami froze for a moment, a sad look on her face. Then she turned away with a huff.

"Fine, it can stay." She said. "But if I find it anywhere near my bed, I'm squashing it."

"Ok." I agreed. "Now all I have to do is think of a name."

I sat down across from my new spider, staring it down to think of something.

* * *

It was dark when I shot up, finally thinking of the perfect name.

"I got it!" I exclaimed.

"What!" Nami shouted blearily, stepping out of her room. "What's happening!"

"I know what I'm going to call him!" I answered, picking up my new friend. "His name is Wilson!"

With a painful _~crack!~_ Nami hit me with her staff.

"Don't wake me for something so stupid like that again!" She ordered, a scary look on her face as she stomped back to her room and slammed the door.

"Who took the jam out of her donut?" I wondered aloud, laying on the deck to get some rest, Wilson sitting on my chest.

* * *

I awoke to the sounds of gunfire and explosions, dust falling on my face from a concrete ceiling.

"Sir, ve are running out of time." Said an elderly man with a thick German accent.

"I know this Nimdock! The Golem is almost complete, I just have to make sure it vill follow our orders." A far younger looking man said.

"What's going on?" I tried to say, nothing coming out.

"Golem, rise!" The younger man commanded.

I was going to do nothing, but instead I stood up from the table I had been laying on.

"What the hell is happening!" I tried to say, once again staying silent.

"Good, good." The younger man muttered, nodding his head. "Now Golem, kill him!"

The man pointed towards a person behind me, my body turning against my will to face a small boy tied to a pole. Seeing me look at him, the boy started thrashing to get free.

"There's no way I'm killing a kid!" I exclaimed, still nothing coming out.

Then I started walking.

My footsteps pounded heavily into the floor, my body having more weight than usual. The boy started begging for his life, but I could do nothing to stop myself. I had no control as I reached down, taking the child's head in my hands.

"Dear God, somebody stop me!" I begged. "Don't make me do this! I don't want to do this!"

The child screamed louder as I squeezed harder, everything ending in an instant. Blood ran down my fingers as I tried desperately to look away, the glaze in the boys eyes reflecting a monster. I was frozen, horrified at what I had just done.

"Vell done, come Golem. There is much work to be done." The man said again.

I screamed.

And screamed.

And screamed.

I don't know who screamed louder. Me, or all the other people I destroyed that day.

* * *

"Kendrick! Kendrick!" A voice called to me. "You have to wake up!"

I gasped and shot up, almost slamming my head against Nami's. She scrambled back just in time, surprised. I took short, ragged breaths, freaking out because of my dream.

"Kendrick, everything's ok." Nami said soothingly, trying to calm me down. "You need to breathe. Breathe."

I sat there for a minute or two, my legs curled up against my chest as I slowly got control of myself. I wound down, unfurling and leaning back against the railing.

"Kendrick, what happened." Nami asked quietly. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah…Yeah, I'm fine." I answered. "Just a nightmare."

"Are you sure?" A voice said behind me.

I turned to see Luffy looking at me concerned, Zoro's expression unreadable.

"Ya, I'm sure." I said, forcing a smile.

Luffy didn't look convinced, but thankfully dropped it. As did Nami, who had another pensive look on her face. I sighed and laid back down, watching the clouds drift by.

* * *

"We need to plan things more!" Nami suddenly declared.

"What do you mean?" Luffy asked.

"We are woefully unprepared for the Grand Line right now." Nami answered.

"You're right." Luffy agreed. "We got lots of fruit, but were running out of meat!"

"That's because you keep eating it all." I remarked, playing with Wilson.

"I'm not talking about the food supplies!" Nami said.

"And we're running out of Sake too." Zoro noted.

"Let's not worry about food and drink right now!" Nami ordered. "The Grand Line is the most dangerous place in the world! Pirates from all over wish to get the treasure there, so we need to get a better ship first."

"It couldn't hurt to get some new crew members also." I interjected. "Like a doctor, or someone who can fix our vessel."

"What do we do then?" Luffy asked.

"We have to prepare for our trip, and plan for the journeys ahead." Nami answered, pulling out a map. "There's a village due north from here, we should go there and look for a better ship."

"And eat some meat!" Luffy exclaimed excitedly.

* * *

We sailed for a bit more, an island eventually appearing on the horizon.

"Wow! There's really an island here!" Luffy exclaimed as we beached, surprised.

"What did you expect?" Nami asked. "We followed the map, so we wouldn't be wrong."

"Oh…" Luffy responded. "Is there a village here?"

"Uh huh, looks like there's a small village." Nami answered.

We disembarked, Zoro stretching out.

"Been a long time since I last stood on firm ground." Zoro remarked.

"That's because you were sleeping all the time." Luffy noted.

"By the way, I just noticed a moment ago, what are those guys doing there?" Zoro asked, pointing at a nearby cliff.

Atop it were what looked like four people, three of which ran off screaming when they realized they were spotted.

"Hey you!" The last figure shouted at his retreating allies. "Don't run away!"

We stared at the last guy, waiting to see what he'd do. He seemed unsure for a moment, then climbed down and stood between us and the village. He crossed his arms and tried to seem as imposing as possible.

"I am the great pirate fleet leader, Usopp, who is in charge of the security of this village!" He exclaimed. "I'm also known as 'Captain', 'Captain Usopp'!"

Now that he was closer, I got a better look at the kid. He didn't seem that much older than any of us with tanned skin and dark, bushy hair that was held together under a hairnet. He was wearing brown overalls, and had a satchel with him.

"It's best if you don't try to attack this village." Usopp continued. "Because my 80 million men are not going to forgive you!"

"You're lying, right?" Nami asked, deadpan.

"_~Waa!~_ I've been caught!" Usopp exclaimed.

"See! You even said it yourself!" Nami continued.

"_~Arghh!~_ Did I just say that?" Usopp wailed. "Bad planning! Bad planning indeed!"

I snickered at the sight before us, amused at Usopp's attempt to trick us.

"_~Hahahahaha!~ _You're so funny!" Luffy laughed.

"Hey! Don't underestimate me! I'm a man with high self-esteem!" Usopp exclaimed. "And everyone calls me 'Honorable Usopp'!"

"Yet the first thing you do when you meet us is lie." I pointed out.

"Yea, well…" Usopp said, not thinking of a comeback.

"We should probably head into town, we won't get supplies just standing here." I suggested. "It was nice meeting you Usopp."

"Wait! You mean you're not here to attack us?" Usopp asked, sounding confused.

"No, why would we? We need to get some more food." Luffy answered.

"Oh! If you're here for that, I know a good place in town." Usopp said. "Follow me."

* * *

A little bit later we found ourselves chowing down on some fairly good food.

"So you're looking for companions and a big ship?" Usopp asked.

"Yup." Luffy confirmed, taking a big bite out of a piece of mutton.

"Sounds like a big adventure!" Usopp said, sounding excited. "There's only one place where you can find all the stuff you want in this village. Although it's not a very big ship, it's not that small either."

"Where?" Nami asked.

"There's a house not far from here that belongs to a wealthy family. The ship belongs to the mansions owner." Usopp explained. "But the owner is very sick, a young girl that's bedridden all day."

"Then how come she's the owner of the mansion?" Nami asked.

"She probably inherited from her parents." I said between bites of food. "That's usually how these things happen. _~swallow~_ But I can't help but feel for her if that's true."

"You're right. I think it happened about a year ago, her parents died of a sickness and left her a large fortune along with the mansion and over ten servants." Usopp continued. "Even if you are really rich, it doesn't exempt you from sorrow."

"Are you okay, Nami?" I asked our navigator, noticing that she had a strange look on her face.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She answered, waving off my concern. "Let's forget about searching for a ship in this village, we'll find one somewhere else."

"Alright, but I need to get some things before we leave." I said, standing up. "Nami, could I borrow some money?"

Nami hesitated for a moment, but relented and handed me some bills.

"Appreciate it, I'll be back soon." I thanked her. "Usopp, is there anyplace to get some books around here."

"I think the general store might have a few." He answered. "I have to go anyways, I'll show you where it is."

* * *

Usopp and I left, arriving at the store a minute later.

"Here it is, hope you find what you're looking for!" Usopp shouted, running off.

I walked into the store, a bell ringing as I did so.

"Welcome!" A man behind the counter greeted. "How can I help you."

"My friends and are planning a trip, and I was wondering if you had any books about ship repair?" I asked.

"_~hmm~_ I think I might, wait here a moment please." The man responded.

He walked through a back door, sounds of rummaging drifting to the store proper. He returned a moment later, volume in hand.

"Here you go, 'A General Look at Ships and the Building Thereof'." The man said, placing the book on a table. "This should have what you're looking for, that'll be 530 Beli."

My heart nearly jumped from my chest at the price. I looked at the money Nami had given me, surprised to find more than enough to pay for it. Assuming that it was a simple case of different values than what I was used to, I paid the man and left to look for the others.

* * *

I returned to the café to find that Nami and the others had already left. I searched around for them, slightly frustrated that they just disappeared like that.

"You got any ideas?" I asked Wilson as we walked down the street. "Cuz I can't think of anything."

I'm not sure how long I wondered aimlessly, but eventually I found myself sitting on a fallen tree in the middle of the woods.

"The hell am I?" I asked myself. "You got any idea Wilson?"

Wilson scampered around a bit, then hissed at something.

"I can answer that question, if you want." A figure said, stepping from behind a tree.

"Who are you?" I demanded, standing up to a defensive position.

"Calm yourself brother, I mean no harm." The man said.

I looked over the man before me, if you could call him that. He was monstrous, towering over me by a head or two with a chest that could put a semi's grill to shame. He was hidden under a large, heavy-looking raincoat, a gas mask over his face. He had his hood pulled up, large boots crushing the ground beneath his feet.

"Sorry 'brother', but I'm an only child." I responded.

"In your human life perhaps, but we are brothers none the less." The man continued. "There are some relations that can't be explained easily, brother. Like your father for instance."

"What about my dad?" I asked warily.

"Oh, nothing. I'm sure your dad was a fine man." The raincoat-man responded. "I'm talking about your father, our father, brother."

"Unless you start making sense, I'm going to leave." I said, starting to walk away.

"How long do you think you can keep them safe?" Raincoat-man asked, making me freeze.

"What are you talking about?" I demanded threateningly.

"Your new friends, how long can you keep them safe?" The man repeated. "Things are only going to get more difficult from here, are you capable of handling it brother?"

"Only one way to find out." I responded, causing the man to laugh.

"A fool's answer, and I know that you're no fool brother." The man said.

"Who are you? Why do you keep calling me 'brother'!" I demanded.

"My name is Zane, and we are brothers. You just don't know it yet." The man replied. "Our father sent me to locate you, and retrieve you if possible."

"I'm afraid you're going home disappointed, I'm staying here." I answered. "Tell 'father' he can try himself if he really cares."

I turned to walk off, stopped by Zane grabbing my shoulder. He spun me around and punched me with enough force to shatter my face, causing me to slam into the ground. Wilson hissed and jumped at Zane, crawling down his coat and distracting him enough for me to get back up. I charged him, slamming him into a tree and picking him up (a feat that in hindsight was fairly impressive). I slung him over my shoulder, rushing another tree and bouncing him off the trunk by his head. He rolled on the ground a bit, groaning in pain. I ran over to kick him, but he caught my leg and used it to swing me into a tree. I felt a few of my ribs shatter, but that didn't matter to Zane. With ease he smashed me against the ground and nearby trees, crushing my bones and organs. He finished by throwing me into the air and lariat-ing me as I came back down, causing me to spin and crash into the ground head-first.

Zane reached into his coat and pulled out a large book, along with a strange-looking knife. He opened the book and placed the knife on the ground, muttering strange words as he did so. Wisps of smoke started emitting from the book, flowing into the knife and causing it to darken. I slowly stood, my wounds healing enough for me to regain control of my legs. I braced myself against a tree, not able to do anything to stop Zane as he stabbed me with the knife. I buckled and fell to the ground, Zane picking me up so he could continue to stab me. Eventually he stopped and threw me to the ground, reaching into his coat and pulling Wilson away. He tossed Wilson toward me, the spider righting itself to stand between me and Zane.

"That's a loyal pet you have there brother, I'll let it live to watch you die." Zane said, turning away. "I was worried for a moment, the pest had caused me to flub some of the words. I almost thought the spell wouldn't work. Goodby, brother."

I tried to say something, only to sputter in surprise and pain when I realized my wounds weren't healing. I tried to keep awake, but Zane had severed several arteries and the blood loss was getting to me. All I could manage was a pathetic gurgle as I drifted into unconsciousness.


	6. Chapter 5

I awoke to someone feeding me a strange mushy substance. I blearily opened my eyes, already trying to forget what tortures the Cenobites were putting me through. My eyes adjusted to the light as I sat up on whatever I was laying on.

"Oh good, you're awake." A voice said. "Sooner than expected as well."

I looked over to see a middle-aged man in a while lab coat, one of those heart-beat things around his neck.

"Am I in a hospital?" I asked.

"As close as you can get on an island like ours." The man responded. "I'm Dr. Joseph, your friends brought you in about an hour ago."

"An hour?" I repeated. "Are they still here?"

"No, Miss Kaya asked them away a moment ago." Dr. Joseph answered. "Now, if you could pull up your shirt I need to inspect your wounds."

I did as he asked, realizing in the process that my shirt probably needed to be replaced. It had numerous tears and holes from my past injuries. The same went for my pants.

"Well I'll be damned." The doctor muttered.

"Avoid it if you can, it's not pleasant." I remarked. "What's wrong?"

"Your wounds are completely healed." He replied.

"Isn't that a good thing?" I asked.

"Of course it is." Dr. Joseph answered. "But it should have taken days, not an hour."

"What can I say, I'm a fast healer." I shrugged. "Can I go?"

"Yeah, just give me a minute." The doctor said. "I need to remove the stitches."

* * *

I left the doctor's office a few minutes later, walking out in a new outfit. It was a simple white shirt with an open Aloha shirt over it and grey pants, a pair of boots along with it. I walked down the street toward our ships, hoping to find the others there. As I was walking, I heard a strange noise behind me and turned to see a large…something rolling at me very quickly. Without thinking I turned and ran away as fast as I could, the ball catching up slowly. I charged through town and over the ridge, seeing a ship I didn't reconsider floating in the water.

"STOP ME PLEASE!" A voice behind me shouted.

It was then that I realized I was being a dumbass, and jumped to the side out-of-the-way of the death-ball. It continued down the hill, coming to a sudden stop just before it hit the ship. Now that it wasn't bearing down on me I realized that it was an overstuffed backpack, along with the fact that the others were at the bottom of the hill with it. I got up and walked over, surprised to find Usopp attached to the pack. The reason for the sudden stop quickly became apparent; Luffy and Zoro's feet propped up on Usopp's face.

"Th…thank you." He muttered weakly.

"No problem." Luffy responded.

"Kendrick, you're alright!" Nami exclaimed, rushing over when she noticed me. "How are you feeling?"

"Better." I answered. "What about you guys? You look like you've been beaten around yourselves."

They went on to explain what had happened in my absence.

* * *

Apparently Luffy thought it was a good idea to follow Usopp to the Mansion, where the long-nosed boy was telling stories to the sick owner, Kaya, to make her feel better. The gang caught up with him in time to be found by Kaya's butler, Clahadore. Clahadore insulted Usopp and his father, and threw everyone off of the mansion's grounds.

Usopp and Luffy later found Clahadore plotting with a weirdo pirate to kill Kaya and steal her fortune, also learning that Clahadore was actually a thought to be dead pirated called Captain Kuro. Usopp and Luffy were found out, the strange pirate Jango hypnotizing Luffy into sleep while Usopp ran off to warn the village. Neither the village or Kaya believed him because he had often lied before, boy cried wolf style, so he decided to defend his village himself.

Luffy, Zoro and Nami agreed to help him, and stopped the pirates from attacking after dealing with a few mishaps. This incited the rage of Captain Kuro, who attacked his own pirates along with the gang only to be defeated by Luffy. It was then that they went to find me, taking me to the doctors and then being given a new ship by Kaya.

* * *

"So you're really giving the 'Going Merry' to us?" I asked, receiving a nod of confirmation from the mistress herself. "Well it's much appreciated, thank you Ma'am."

"It's the least I could do, your friends saved me and the village." Kaya replied.

"Well, good on ya." I thanked again. "What's our next move captain?"

"We still need to make it to the Grand Line." Luffy answered, grinning.

I grinned back at the rubber-boy, climbing aboard with the others.

"So, are you going out to sea as well Usopp?" Kaya asked the long-nosed kid.

"Yeah, I have to go before I change my mind." Usopp answered. "Please don't stop me."

"I won't, I've figured you might do this." Kaya responded. "It makes me really sad though."

"Next time I come to this village, I'll tell you adventure stories more unbelievable than lies." Usopp said.

"Thank you." Kaya replied, smiling. "I look forward to it."

"Well, safe voyage guys!" Usopp called up to us. "Hope to see you again somewhere!"

"Why?" Luffy asked.

"Huh? Why?" Usopp replied, confused. "Sheesh, what a cold-hearted man. We're both going to be pirates now, so we might see each other again on the high seas."

"What are you talking about?" Zoro asked. "Hurry up and get on board!"

"What?" Usopp asked back, even more confused.

"You're already our companion, aren't you?" Luffy responded.

Usopp froze, unprepared for that. He quickly regained his composure, running toward the ship with a smile on his face.

"I…I'm the captain, right!" Usopp cheered.

"No way! I'm the captain!" Luffy argued.

Usopp climbed aboard, and we set sail to new adventures.

* * *

"To a new ship, and a new crew member!" I exclaimed, raising my glass into the air. "Cheers!"

We all cheered and clinked our glasses together, downing our drinks. I clapped Usopp on the back, laughing.

"Back when I still lived with my family, it was customary to welcome new family with truth-or-dare. Being that we are bottle-less, a game of poker should suffice."

"Couldn't we use one of our drinking glasses?" Usopp asked.

"No, it wouldn't be right. It goes against tradition." I countered. "Besides, I want to earn some proper spending money from Nami."

"Is that a challenge?" Nami smirked.

"You bet your britches, lass." I laughed. "Are you up to it?"

"You got that right, let's play!" Nami confirmed.

We quickly set up a table, Nami producing a deck of cards. Zoro is first to deal, then Usopp, Luffy, and Nami with myself going last. Confident in her abilities, Nami gave me some money to play. We sat down and started the game.

* * *

Unfortunately I'm obligated to not ever speak of the game, but I can tell you I won.

"But…but…but." Nami stuttered in shock as I dragged my winnings towards me.

"Told ya, I'm a man of stupid luck when it comes to poker." I laughed, stacking it up. "I thank you for your donations."

Laughing, I took my money and walked to our sleeping quarters. Nami got her own room, with us guys sharing a space. I sat down on a hammock and went to work sorting my earnings. Tearing up a spare bit of rope, I wrapped up the bills and hid them in my breast-pocket until I had a better place to put them. I leaned back and sighed, getting comfortable enough to risk sleep.

"What do you think Wilson? Did we earn a rest?" I asked the spider.

Wilson scampered around a bit, then crawled up to the ceiling. I watched him as he slowly created a web.

"I wonder what kind of spider you are?" I remarked,. "~yawn~ I'll find out in the morning."

* * *

I quickly realized this was a terrible idea, and it took the combined efforts of Luffy and Usopp to awaken me from my nightmares. I thanked them and walked back to the deck, finding that night had fallen. I dragged Nami's chair to the middle of the ship and laid down, watching the stars. A few hours later the sun crept over the horizon, lazily floating into the sky as Wilson found me.

Taking the spider in hand, I decided now was a good time to properly inspect him. He had the body of a tarantula, his exoskeleton slick and shiny like a widow's. He had minimal hair, and eight red eyes staring at me. I took him to the kitchen, wondering what kind of foods he ate. I pulled out a piece of meat and laid it out for him, watching as he went to work.

"Well, I'm no further to understanding what kind of spider you are than when I started." I told Wilson, watching as he jumped off toward a bug and captured it with webbing. "This was fun, let's do it again sometime."

"Are you talking to Angela and Demona again?" Nami asked, walking into the kitchen.

"No, I'm talking to Wilson." I answered, watching the spider try to figure out the sink. "I haven't heard from Angela or Demona for a while now."

"Is that a good or bad thing?" Nami yawned, making some coffee.

"_~eeuh~_" I grunted non-confirmingly, shrugging.

Nami sat down and watched me watch Wilson. The spider was trying everything to escape the metal prison of the sink, the sight causing me to snicker at him. Wilson turned to face me, eyes staring me down in a way that conveyed his frustration. Not taking kindly to my amusement, Wilson reared back and launched himself at my face.

"_~Aaahh!~_ You little bugger!" I exclaimed, stumbling back and tripping over a chair as I tried to pull the aggravated arachnid off my person. "Alright! I'm sorry you ponce, now get off me face!"

With a nip of anger at my nose, Wilson let go and scampered off before I could retaliate. I laid on the ground, watching as my dignity floated away. The visage of Nami leaned into my sight, a grin present on her face.

"Now I'm really glad you saved it, that was the funniest thing I've seen in a long time." Nami giggled.

"Screw you too Nami." I grumbled, sitting up.

I felt my nose, surprised to find that I was still bleeding. Then I remembered what happened with Zane. I stood up and walked over to the sink, washing the blood off my face. I grabbed myself an apple and took a bite, watching my reflection to see what would happen. Wilson's bite healed up, leaving a small scar from where he bit me.

"That dick." I mumbled to myself.

"What's wrong?" Nami asked.

"Zane, the guy that stabbed me back on Usopp's island, did some weird magic stuff and fucked with my healing." I explained.

"Magic? That's crazy." Nami responded disbelievingly.

"You had better get used to crazy around him." A voice said, prompting Nami and I to spin around.

"Who are you?" I asked the stranger before us.

He was fairly tall, about and inch or two smaller than me. He was wearing a plain black business suit, hair slicked back and combed. He looked like a lawyer of sorts, his gait and stance suggesting he was very tired.

"My name is Hans, and I'm here to help you." The man answered. "Can we please skip the questions and get straight to the helping part, I've had a long day."

"I…suppose so." I answered, slightly put off. "Do I need to sit down, or…?"

"Just hold still please." Hans answered. "It'll just be a moment."

Hans pulled a large book from…somewhere, and opened it. He started chanting some words, and everything darkened for a moment. He stopped and put the book away, the brightness returning to normal.

"What just happened?" Nami asked, confused.

"Kendrick has just been un-retconned, get used to it kid." Hans answered. "Now if you excuse me, I have to save Captain America"

Hans turned around, disappearing as he did so. Nami and I stood there, unsure of what to do.

"Let's agree to never speak of this again." I eventually suggested.

"No problems here."

* * *

"Alright!" Luffy suddenly exclaimed. "Our pirate flag is done!"

We all walked over so see his work, unsure what to feel about it. It was clearly trying to be a skull with Luffy's hat on it, but seemed more like a warped football.

"_~hahaha~ _I put a lot of thought in to making our symbol." Luffy said excitedly.

"Yeah…our symbol." I mumbled uncertainly.

"Calling him artistically challenged would be an understatement…" Usopp remarked, shocked.

"No…this could be some form of abstract art…" Nami defended.

"A pirates flag should be a symbol of death, but this is…" Zoro said. "Well…I guess it's quite terrifying in a sense."

"Whaddya think?" Luffy asked, giggling.

"You're beyond terrible!" Usopp answered. "Leave the drawing to me!"

Usopp went to work on a new flag, Luffy looking disappointed.

"Don't sweat it, not everybody can draw well." I assured the rubber-boy, patting him on the back. "If it makes you feel better, I can't draw either. Can barely write my own name in fact."

"Really, can I see?" Luffy asked.

_"~Eh?~_ I suppose so." I answered. "Find me something to write with."

Suddenly Nami appeared, pen and paper in hand. I started a bit at her sudden appearance, but shrugged and wrote my name on it.

"'Kenarch Austln'?" Nami read.

"No, it says 'Kehdnck Avstih'." Luffy said.

"Both of you are wrong, it's 'héhanck Austin'" Zoro "explained".

"All right, I get it you wankers." I grumbled, crumpling the paper and throwing it overboard. "I told you it's bad."

"Wait, your name isn't Kendrick?" Nami asked, confused

"It is." I assured, confused myself at why she would ask that.

"Then what was that other name?" Nami questioned.

"That was my last name; Austin." I answered.

"But Kendrick came first." Nami pointed out.

"That's because it's my first name." I replied.

"Then why is it first?"

"Because it's my first name."

"Then it should be second!"

"No, then it would be my middle name."

"Middle name?"

"It's Thomas."

"You have three names?"

"Yeah."

"So your name is 'Austin Thomas Kendrick'?"

"No, it's 'Kendrick Thomas Austin'."

"But you said 'Austin' was your surname."

"It is."

"Then why isn't it first!"

"Because it's not my first name!"

"Exactly!"

"Listen, it's simple. Kendrick is my first name, so it goes first, and Austin is my last, so it goes last. Thomas goes between them, but it's not important."

"But that's not how it works! Your surname goes first, then your given name!"

"That's completely backwards!"

"It's how it works!"

"You know what, fuck it. Since apparently it's too complicated for you, my name is Kendrick. Just. Kendrick."

"Don't you talk to me like that!"

"I can talk to you however I want!"

"I dare you to keep it up!"

"Just like you dare me to play a game of poker?"

"Shut up, you challenged me! How was I supposed to know you have some kind of magic gambling powers!"

"How was I supposed to know you didn't realize the difference between a first name and a last name?"

"Why you…!"

As our argument heated up, Nami and I had stepped closer and closer to each other until we were pressing our foreheads together. Realizing how close we were, we awkwardly stepped away while still glaring at each other.

"Er…I'm done." Usopp said, holding up the flag.

It was a clearly better, and very impressive, job…of his own pirate mark.

"You completely changed the symbol!" Luffy and Zoro complained, knocking Usopp over the head.

* * *

"Wow, that's perfect!" Nami congratulated once Usopp had finished his second attempt.

She was right too, it was a classic skull and crossbones with Luffy's hat perched atop it.

"It doesn't look even remotely like the other one." Zoro agreed.

"That's great! Draw one on our sail too later!" Luffy said.

"Very well done." I remarked. "How did you get so good?"

"I've honed my artistic talents my drawing on people's homes for years." Usopp bragged. "I'm quite the master artist you know!"

"Calm down Picasso, it's no Mona Lisa." I said.

"Who's Picasso?" Usopp asked.

"…I…Y…Just..Just forget about it." I managed to get out, walking away.

I leaned against the railing and had a small freak-out, just realizing that everything I had ever enjoyed is now gone and that I was probably never going so see any of it again.

"Okay Kendrick, it could be worse." I said to myself. "This also means that all the crummy stuff is gone. Like Mondays, or Nazis. Yeah, there is no Hitler, that's good."

I thought about that for a moment, "no Hitler".

"Oh my god there is no Wolfenstein." I realized. "There aren't any video games. Still…not so bad, this means there aren't any David Cage debacles either."

I was almost happy for a moment, then my train of thought continued.

"But that means there isn't any Kingdom Hearts either!" I exclaimed, clutching my head. "Or anything by Disney! ~gasp!~ Jesus, Treasure Planet doesn't exist!"

I was visibly shaken now, my breath irregular and ragged.

"Cartoon Network is no more, along with Sunday strips or comics!" I continued, getting louder. "No more lazy afternoons with my friends, or my family!"

I became cold, the realization I had been leading up to crashing down on me as I sank to my knees.

"My family…is gone." I mumbled. "I'll never see any of them again."

Then a wave of water hit me in the face.

* * *

I awoke some time later to the sound of cannon fire, jerking up in the bed I was laying on. I looked around and realized that I was in Nami's room, strange when you consider we aren't allowed in here. I got up and climbed the stairs quickly, worried about my friends.

"What's going on, whose attacking!" I exclaimed, bursting though the door.

"Kendrick!" Luffy exclaimed. "You're okay!"

"Of course I am, now who fired at us?" I asked.

"It was me, I'm testing our cannon." Luffy explained. "It'd be a waste not to make use of it."

"Oh, okay." I said, calming down. "Why was I in Nami's room?"

"You started freaking out, so we took you down there to rest when you calmed down." Usopp explained. "Are you okay now?"

"Yeah, I don't remember anything though." I answered. "What happened?"

"After you talked to Usopp, you started ranting about something when a wave crashed over you." Nami responded. "You collapsed to the ground and started hyperventilating, saying stuff that didn't make any sense. We couldn't calm you down, but eventually you tired yourself out and fell unconscious."

I thought about what she described as I leaned against the wall, wondering what had happened to me.

"Strange…sorry for worrying you guys." I said.

"Do you remember what you were saying?" Zoro asked.

"…Yes, I do." I answered hesitantly. "I had just realized something pretty bad."

"What was it?" Luffy asked.

"…I…Everything I ever knew and loved Is gone forever." I answered quietly. "I'll never see any of it again."

Nobody said anything, probably not quite sure what to say.

"You can't just go home?" Luffy asked.

"No, I can't." I answered. "And even if I did make it home somehow, who knows how much has changed. My family's probably all dead by now."

Again, nobody said anything.

"…For what it's worth, I'm sorry." Nami eventually said.

"…Thanks, I'm sorry too." I replied. "This isn't any of your problems, and I'm just dumping it all on you."

"That's alright, we're friends aren't we?" Luffy asked, grinning.

"Yeah, we are." I answered, smiling myself. "You could say 'nakama' even."

"Nakama?" Usopp echoed. "What does that mean?"

"It means friend, or comrade, though I've always taken it to imply something closer." I explained. "We're nakama."

"Nakama…I like it!" Luffy decided. "We are all nakama!"

Everyone cheered, even Wilson came out of hiding to hiss in agreement.

"Let me see that cannon, I'll show you how it's done." Usopp bragged, walking away with Luffy.

As they played with the gun, I slid to the ground and watched them. I let out a small laugh as Usopp shocked himself when he hit a far-off rock on his first try.

"You know something Nami." I said to our navigator. "It's quite ironic actually, I was taught that all pirates were ruthless criminals. Now look, we're part of a pirate crew made up of some of the best friends I've ever had.…not sure if I used 'ironic' correctly, but who cares."

"They are quite the sight." Nami agreed. "But I'm still not a pirate."

"Oh, come off it lass." I laughed. "You cannae argue the fact any longer, you're a pirate."

"No, I'm not!" Nami growled, stomping.

"Oh yes you are. Uno; you're part of a pirate crew. Dos; you have all the skills of a pirate. Und Tres; You are currently living on a pirate ship." I argued with a smirk. "Next you'll be singing shanties on the high seas."

"_~pfft~_ As if you know anything about singing." Nami grumbled.

"Aye, I've dabbled." I responded. "Do you want an example, mon petit chaton?"

"What did you say?" Nami asked.

"Mon petit chaton; my little kitten." I answered.

"_~grr~_ Don't call me that!" Nami growled.

"Calm down lass, no need to get your knickers in a twist." I said. "Do you want me to sing or not?"

"_~hmp~_ As if I could resist the chance of seeing you look like a fool." Nami replied. "Go ahead and sing."

"Alrigh' lass, give us a minute here." I said, thinking of a song.

I tried to think of an appropriate song, then realized I knew a perfect one.

"_~Yo-Ho, Yo-Ho, a pirate's life for me. We pillage, we plunder, we rifle and loot, drink up me 'earties yo-ho.~_" I started. "_~We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot, drink up me 'earties yo-ho!~_"

Usopp and Luffy stopped messing with the cannon to turn and look at me, surprised. Nami was surprised as well, raising her eyebrow at me. Zoro even cracked an eye to watch.

"_~Yo-Ho, Yo-Ho, a pirate's life for me. We extort and pilfer, we pillage and sack, drink up me 'earties yo-ho.~_" I sang, standing up and walking over to Zoro. "_~Maraud and embezzle and even hijack, drink up me 'earties yo-ho!~_"

I strided over to Zoro and snatched his Sake from him, taking a few gulps before passing it to Nami. She shrugged and drank some as well, tossing it to Luffy as Zoro tried to grab it from her.

"_~Yo-Ho, Yo-Ho, a pirate's life for me! We kindle and char and inflame and ignite, drink up me 'earties yo-ho. We burn up the city, we're really a fright, drink up me 'earties yo-ho.~_" I continued, watching Zoro take his bottle back from Usopp. He tipped back his head to drink it, but was disappointed to find it empty. "_~We're rascals and scoundrels, we're villains and knaves, drink up me 'earties yo-ho. We're devil and black sheep and really bad eggs, drink up me 'earties yo-ho.~_"

I walked over to Luffy and Usopp, wrapping my arm around my shoulder as we sang together. At least they tried to, trailing behind me a bit.

"_~We're beggars and blighters and ne'er do-well cads, drink up me 'earties yo-ho! Aye, but we're loved by our mumsies and dads, drink up me 'earties yo-ho!~_" We sang. "_~Yo-Ho, Yo-Ho, a pirate's life for me!~_"

"Again, again!" Luffy cheered.

"Nah, I cannae lad." I said. "I don't have many other songs to sing, need to save them."

"_~aww~_" Luffy pouted.

"Tell ya what, lad." I said, walking into the kitchen to get an apple. "Let me get a snack, and I'll thing about cooking something up."

I walked into the kitchen and grabbed another apple, leaning against the counter.

"Hey, I just had an idea!" Luffy declared, following me along with the others. "There's still one crucial position we need to fill before entering the Grand Line."

"That's right, we do have this fantastic kitchen after all." Nami agreed. "Of course, I could do it as long as I get paid."

"An indispensable crew member for long voyages." Zoro agreed as well.

"You think so too, right?" Luffy said. "Yup, what a pirate ship really needs is a musician!"

"_~sigh~ _So close." I said mournfully, taking a bite of apple.

"Are you retarded!" Zoro demanded.

"And here I thought you were going to say something smart for the first time in your life!" Nami yelled.

"Do you have any idea what sailing on the seas is like!" Usopp shouted.

"B-But a pirate's got to sing!" Luffy argued, dejected.

"COME OUT YOU DAMN PIRATES!" A voice roared from the deck. "I'M GOING TO SLAUGHTER ALL OF YOU!"

Luffy and I rushed outside to see a strange man with a sword kicking our barrels around.

"Hey! Who do you think you are!" Luffy demanded.

"Who am I?" The man echoed. "I should be asking you who the hell do you think you are!"

The man slashed at us, breaking the railing as we jumped out-of-the-way. Luffy ended up behind him while I dove to the side, barely getting nicked.

"I've killed countless infamous pirates." The man growled, turning to me as I stood up. "And yet a nameless person like you dares to kill by brother!"

The crazy guy charged me wildly, rearing back for an attack. I dodged to the side to avoid it, but the man suddenly spun the other way and cut me in half. I fell to the deck, taking large gasping breaths while I tried to fight the pain.

"Kendrick!" Luffy exclaimed, turning to reach for the man. "You asshole!"

I landed leaning against the mast, so I saw Luffy grab the man from behind and slam him into the wall.

"A-almost had him." The man weakly said, crumpling to the deck.

I felt something weird going on, and looked down to see the two pools of my blood slowly getting closer to each other. As the pools connected, fleshy wires of skin and other bits started growing from each half of my severed hip toward each other to create a bridge. I groaned as my legs and torso were slowly pulled back together, more and more tendrils connecting to each other until I was once again a whole piece. Gingerly I turned to be on my knees, hesitantly standing up. There was a scar running the length of my stomach and coming back around, looking like a strange tattoo.

"Johnny, is that you?" Zoro asked the man.

"Zoro, is that really you bro?" The man replied, suddenly standing up in surprise.

"Where's Yosaku?" Zoro asked Johnny. "Isn't he usually with you?"

"He's…" Johnny started. "Yosaku is…"

* * *

"Sick!" Zoro said, looking down at the dying Yosaku.

He looked to be a mess of a man, bleeding from every place you could bleed it seemed.

"Yeah…he was just fine a couple days ago, but all of a sudden he turned pale and kept passing out! I don't know what he's come down with." Johnny explained tearfully. "His teeth have begun to fall out, and his old wounds have reopened! I don't know what to do anymore. I was trying to at least let him rest on top of that rock, but all of a sudden this ship fired a cannon ball at us!"

Luffy and Usopp looked shocked for a moment, then regained their composure and bowed.

"W-We're truly, truly sorry." They apologized together.

"It's fine, what's done is done." Johnny replied. "If all problems could be solved by a simple apology, there wouldn't be any need for policemen."

The thought didn't help Usopp and Luffy, who now looked very scared.

"'Yosaku and Johnny', we were once infamous enough to have pirates shaking in their boots at the mere mention of our names from time to time." Johnny continued, crying. "We've lived and worked together as bounty hunters for years! Is this how it's all going to end?"

Nobody said anything, but I noticed that Nami looked annoyed.

"God, how thick can you get!" Nami exclaimed.

"What did you just say?" Zoro growled.

"Lady, I won't let you to free if you dare make a mockery of my partner's suffering." Johnny threatened.

"Usopp! Luffy! There are some limes in the kitchen, squeeze the juice out and bring it here." Nami ordered.

"Rodger!" They said, rushing off.

"What do we need limes for?" I asked.

"I'll explain in a moment." Nami responded, waiting for Luffy and Usopp to return. "Okay now pour the juice into his mouth."

Usopp and Luffy went to work, forcing Yosaku to drink the lime squeezings.

"He's been afflicted with scurvy." Nami explained. "If we're not too late, he should recover just fine in a few days."

"A-Are you telling me the truth, sis?" Johnny exclaimed.

"Please don't call me sis." Nami replied. "In the past it was practically a death sentence for sailors, it's caused by a lack of nutrients found in fruits and vegetables. It was quite common back then because ships didn't have the technology to effectively store fruits and vegetables for a long time."

"Wow! You're like a doctor!" Luffy said, amazed.

"Yeah, I always knew that girl was special. Usopp's eyes are never wrong." Usopp bragged.

"If you're going to be sailing, you should know at least this much!" Nami yelled at them. "God, your stupidity will be the death of you!"

Wilson crawled to my shoulder and hissed, startled by Nami's outburst.

"I know, right?" I said to him.

"Alright, I'm all charged up on nutrients and ready for action!" Yosaku exclaimed, jumping up from the ground and dancing.

"_~HaHa~_ My partner's fine now!" Johnny celebrated, dancing as well.

"Like hell he could recover that fast!" Nami yelled.

"Sorry for the late introductions." Johnny said, ignoring Nami. "The name's Johnny."

"And I'm Yosaku!" Yosaku said.

"Zoro used to bounty hunt with us in the past!" Johnny explained.

"Nice to meet you!" Yosaku said. "I don't know how to thank you all, I thought I bit the dust for sure."

"Well color me surprised!" Johnny exclaimed. "I never would have expected the infamous pirate hunter Zoro to become a pirate himself!"

"_~buhee!~_" Yosaku suddenly cried out, collapsing to the ground bleeding once more. "_~blargh!~_"

"Yosaku!" Johnny exclaimed, surprised.

"Just shut up and get some rest already!" Zoro ordered.

"What a tool." Demona remarked, causing me to start.

"Christ, don't do that to me." I scolded. "Where have you been?"

"We never left, you just stopped listening." Angela said. "You were making such progress, what happened?"

"Who cares, I'm just glad we have someone else to talk to." Demona responded. "You never agree with me."

"Don't be so selfish, you know we aren't healthy for him." Angela argued. "Perhaps what happened earlier had an adverse affect on him?"

"Who knows, but can you be quiet please." I requested. "I can't hear the others."

"…are the kinds of dangers we'll have to face on large voyages." Zoro said.

"He would have died for shure if they hadn't come across us." Usopp remarked. "We defiantly need someone to think about our diet to see to it that we stay healthy. What we need is a 'Chef of the Sea'."

"If you think about it, that's one of the most important talents when you're out on the seas." Nami agreed.

"Alright, I've decided! Let's go look for a sea cook!" Luffy announced. "Eating good food is never a bad thing!"

"Bro!" Johnny exclaimed, raising his hand."

"What is it Johnny?" Zoro asked.

"If you're looking for a cook, I know just the place." Johnny answered, smirking. "Of course, getting one to join you is another matter altogether."

"Where is it?" I asked. "Is the island close by?"

"It's not on an island." Johnny replied. "It a restaurant on the seas."

"'A restaurant on the seas'!" The others echoed, amazed.

"That's right, you should be able to reach if from here in two-to-three days. But that place is close to the Grand Line, so you gotta be careful." Johnny said. "Lotta dangerous guys around those parts."

As Johnny walked over to us, he said something to Zoro that caused him to freeze. I watched the swordsman worriedly, not used to him reacting in such a way.

"Are you okay lad?" I asked Zoro.

"Never better." He answered, grinning.


	7. Chapter 6

"This is bullshit." I groaned, holding my wound.

"You're the one that wanted to spar." Zoro pointed out.

He was right, a little after Johnny told us about the sea-restaurant Baratie I asked Zoro if we could have a match. It took some convincing, but eventually he agreed.

"This is a stupid idea." Nami scolded from the sidelines, watching along with the others none the less.

"Are you done?" Zoro asked.

"No, not yet." I answered. "Let's go again."

Zoro sighed and drew his katana, sliding into stance. I waited for my wound to heal, then charged him. Zoro slashed at me, but dodged it and rolled behind him. I twisted around to catch him unguarded, but he was faster and intercepted me with his sword. I fought past the pain of his attack and managed to land an uppercut, following it up with two quick jabs to his chest. Zoro slid back to avoid my hook, slashing at the same time and cutting off my hand.

"Fuck!" I cried, falling to my knee.

I didn't do anything for a moment, gasping and trying not to cry. I gingerly picked up my hand and put it back on, a scar appearing where it was severed.

"I can't watch this anymore." Nami remarked, covering her mouth and walking off.

"We're done anyway." Zoro said, sheathing his katana.

"No!" I exclaimed. "Not until I win!"

"How?" Zoro asked seriously.

I didn't have an answer.

"Exactly." Zoro continued. "This isn't training, this is abuse. You have no way to stop my blade, continuing like this is pointless until you get stronger."

"How can I possibly get stronger!" I demanded. "I lifted a god-damned wall, and I'm not a monster like you and Luffy!"

"I don't know, but until you find out we are done." Zoro said, turning and walking away. "And if we're monsters, what does that make you?"

It's a strange felling to be talked down by someone shorter than you. I thought about what Zoro had said, feeling the new scars I had running across my chest as I did so.

"He's right you know." Angela said.

"I do." I responded. "We have to get better, but how?"

"faster…"

I started and looked around, wondering who had said that.

"What did you gals say?" I asked Angela and Demona.

"We didn't say anything, I thought that was you." Angela replied.

"It better not be another one of us." Demona said. "There's not enough room in here for a third, we'll have to get rid of the pool table."

"How the hell did you…I almost fell for that." I remarked, disappointed in myself.

_~clack, clack-clack~_

"Fell for what?" Demona asked.

* * *

Ignoring Demona and Angela for now, I took the advice of the mysterious voice and decided to try to get faster. I started doing laps around the Merry, trying to find out how long I could run without getting tired.

It was dinner time before I finally decided to stop, amazed at myself. I must have been running for hours, but I didn't even feel drowsy. I was awfully hungry though.

"I didn't know you could run like that." Usopp remarked as we were eating.

"I didn't either, I don't even feel tired." I replied. "Just hungry."

As I ate, I thought about how I could get faster. Since running didn't tire me out, I'd have to make it more difficult somehow. My thoughts drifted to Wilson as I watched him catch an insect and wrap it up. I suddenly had an idea.

"Hey Nami." I said, swallowing my bite of apple. "Do we have any cloth for sail repair?"

"Of course, why would we not?" Nami answered, confused.

"Do you think it be alright if I borrowed some?" I asked.

"I suppose so." Nami answered. "What do you need it for?"

"Just a little project I'm working on." I said, walking out to the deck. "Gracias, ma petit chaton."

* * *

I made my way to the storage hold, Wilson aboard my shoulder. He had taken to staying there now that he had explored the ship. I found the cloth and cut away some pieces, using a needle and thread to fashion a rudimentary parachute. I returned to the deck and attached myself to the contraption, starting to run around the ship. It was noticeably more difficult and I was going slower as well.

I ran for a few more hours, surprised to find that instead of getting tired I was becoming worryingly hungry. Taking a break to grab an apple, I returned to training feeling like I had just started. I continued well into the night, Nami surprised to find me still running when she awoke the next morning.

"Did you sleep at all?" She asked me as I ran past.

"No, been training." I answered, not stopping.

"That's probably not good for you." Nami remarked.

"Neither is getting cut in half because I'm too slow." I responded. "Can you guess which one hurts more?"

"Sorry for caring." Nami grumbled, walking into the kitchen and slamming the door.

I sighed and sped up, not wanting to deal with her right now. I continued training as everyone awoke, only stopping to have breakfast with them. I clutched my stomach as I walked in, hunger gnawing away at me. I grabbed some apples and went to work, eating the core and all.

"H'w c'me you d'n e't 'ny me't?" Luffy asked around a mouthful of food.

"If we both ate it, it wouldn't last." I answered. "That and I like apples."

"We can see that." Johnny remarked. "Are you going to leave any for the rest of us?"

I looked at the apple barrel and realized that I had already downed half of it.

"Sorry." I said, stepping away (and unsuccessfully resisting the urge to grab another apple). "I'm going to train some more."

* * *

It was a few days later that we came upon the sea restaurant.

"We're here at the restaurant!" Johnny announced. "Brother Zoro! Brother Luffy! Brother Usopp! Brother Nami! Brother Kendrick!"

I stopped running to look at the Baratie. It was a large ship made up to look like fish, three tiers and a dock sticking out the side (which was the front of the restaurant part).

"What do you think, everyone?" Johnny and Yosaku asked, making a show of presenting the eatery.

"What a huge fish!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Wow!" Nami cried out, amazed.

"That's so funky!" Usopp agreed.

A ship pulled up next to us, catching out attention. It was a Caravel like ours, perhaps a little bigger, but had "Marines" written down the side of it.

"It's the Marines!" Usopp shouted.

"When did it…?" Luffy said, surprised.

"Just calm down." I said. "They're probably just here to eat, we don't have bounties for people to collect yet."

"Someone's coming out!" Yosaku exclaimed.

A man with pink hair wearing a suit walked onto the deck, the knuckles on his right hand covered in metal and appeared to have screws driven through them.

"I'm the Lieutenant of the Marine Headquarters, known as "Ironfist Fullbody"." The man introduced himself. "Who's your captain, name yourself!"

"I'm Luffy." The rubber-boy answered. "I just finished making our flag the day before yesterday!"

"H-he said the day before yesterday! _~hahaha~_" Johnny laughed.

"_~Ahaha!~_ Good one!" Yosaku agreed.

"It wasn't a joke." I remarked. "We only just started."

Johnny and Yosaku both stared at me, shocked.

"What's their problem?" I asked Wilson, who crawled over to my other shoulder to watch them.

"Wait a minute, I think I've seen you before. You frequent the government offices on business." Fullbody remarked, talking to Johnny and Yosaku who snapped to attention. "If I remember correctly, you're…small time bounty hunters. Yosaku and Johnny I think your names were, so you've finally been captured by pirates."

Fullbody's eyes drifted over to me, widening slightly.

"I recognize you too!" He exclaimed. "Kendrick Austin, as a Marine of the World Government I hereby-"

"Can't that wait until after dinner, darling?" A voice said.

"Yes, it can." Fullbody agreed, talking to someone inside the cabin. "Consider yourselves lucky I'm on break pirates, I only came here to eat at this restaurant. But consider your lives forfeit the next time you run into me when I'm not off duty."

"You think that you can call us small-time and get away with it?" Johnny demanded, throwing a stack of papers to the deck. "Look at all these pirates we are hunting!"

Fullbody sailed past us, ignoring them.

"Guys, we're in deep shit!" Usopp cried. "The bastards aiming his cannon at us!"

"What!" Zoro exclaimed.

A boom rang out as the cannon fired, launching a ball directly at us.

"HE FIRED!" Usopp screamed.

"I got it!" I exclaimed, zooming forward and jumping off the bow.

I intercepted the ball and grabbed it out of the sky, using its momentum to spin around and throw it back at the Marines…instead hitting the restaurant.

_"Well, fuck."_ I thought.

"Good job, numb-nuts." Demona remarked as we fell. "You didn't think this out at all did you?"

I didn't reply, having a hard time breathing as the surface of the water rushed to meet me. Right before I crashed into the waves, something grabbed me and pulled me back to the ship. I laid on the deck, my breathing ragged and my heart beating irregularly.

"Kendrick, you hit the restaurant!" Luffy scolded, his arm returning to normal. "What if they won't give us food now!"

"Who cares about that right now, are you okay Kendrick?" Nami asked, checking me over.

"What's wrong with him, he's breathing strangely." Usopp asked.

"I don't know!" Nami yelled at Usopp. "I can't tell what's wrong with him!"

"He must be choking on something!" Johnny said, grabbing me and propping against the railing to try to dislodge the non-existent choking hazard out of my throat.

I looked down to see the sea below me, waves crashing against the ship. My heart finally decided on how it wanted to beat, speeding up to almost painful speeds.

"Let go, let me go!" I shouted, scrambling away from the edge of the ship in a mad panic. "Get the fuck away from me!"

"Kendrick, what's wrong." Zoro asked.

"Just shut up!" I shouted, surprising them. "Everyone shut the fuck up! I..I-I-I need air, I can't breathe."

I tried to stand only to collapse after the first few steps I took. I clutched my heart and rolled onto my back, gasping for air. There was a sudden tearing pain in my chest and my heart stopped beating. I felt woozy and sick, not having the energy to move as my breathing calmed. A moment later I felt better, well enough to stand and lean against the mast.

"Sorry, I'm good now." I said, feeling clammy and cold.

"What was that?" Zoro asked. "Why did you freak out like that on us?"

"I don't know." I answered. "I just saw the water and panicked, I had to get away from it."

I felt something pulse in my chest and reached up to feel my heart slowly start to beat again.

"I think…I think my heart exploded." I said. "It was beating super fast, then nothing."

"You're heart…exploded?" Nami echoed disbelieving. "That's crazy even for you."

"I don't know how else to describe it, I'm not event sure what exactly happened." I replied. "But that's not important right now, we should go see if everyone in the restaurant is alright."

"Hey!" A voice yelled. "You guys stay there!"

We turned to see a pair of chefs rowing out to us, looking very angry.

"Damn that was fast." I remarked. "Sorry about that guys, but I can explain. It actually quite a funny-"

* * *

Next I knew, I was being dragged through the restaurant.

"Apparently they didn't it was that funny." I said to Wilson.

I looked around the restaurant and noticed the Fullbody guy from before.

"Hey, asshole!" I called out, getting his attention. "Your stupid cannon ball fucked up their ship!"

"What are you talking about?" Fullbody asked. "If you hadn't caught it the cannon would have hit your ship."

"Wait, did he just say that kid caught a cannon ball?" A patron remarked.

"That's crazy, nobody can do that." Another said.

An idea worked its way into my mind.

"It's not that hard, if someone like me can catch a cannon then imagine what a Marine Lieutenant can do." I said loudly for everyone to hear. "I bet he could knock me out with a single punch. Who'd like to see that? Imagine how impressive he would look."

A murmur of excitement traveled around the Baratie, everyone excited to see the show. Fullbody looked around, seemingly unsure of himself.

"Unless the Lieutenant doesn't think he can do it?" I continued. "What kind of Marine is afraid of a pirate?"

Now I had him, I could see Fullbody figuring out what to do now. If he backed down, he would look like a coward. On the other hand, if he did try to knock me out and failed he would look like a weakling.

"Stand him up, it's time to knock some manners into this pirate." Fullbody said, deciding on a course of action.

I was dragged to my feet, everyone in the restaurant realizing how tall I was compared to them. Fullbody was surprised for a moment, but recovered quickly. He reared back to punch with all his strength, cementing his fate.

As he drove his fist toward me, I dodged to the left and pulled one of the chefs holding me into the path of his attack. Fullbody's fist connected with the jaw of the chef, knocking him to the ground and freeing my arm. I slammed the other chef against the wall and reached my leg up to grab Fullbody around the neck, dragging both of us to the ground.

"Now look what we have here." I laughed, gripping Fullbody with my knee. "Who could have expected this to happen?"

Fullbody struggled to escape my grip, but a comforting press to his throat discouraged him. He reached back to try to grab me, but I slammed my foot onto his hand and held it against the ground. His other arm flailed uselessly, not having the leverage to pull me off him.

"_~ah ah ah~_ Lest have none of that." I scolded mockingly. "I'm going to ask you some questions, and you're going to answer them. Oh, and I recommend being quick about it. Wouldn't want to waste your air."

Fullbody nodded, signaling he understood.

"What the hell is going on here!" A voice demanded.

I looked toward a set of stairs to see an important looking man standing there, his arms crossed and an angry expression on his face. He had a huge chefs hat on, almost as tall as he was, and a large braided mustache that seemed to defy gravity and hang off his face sideways. He also had a peg leg, the whole image coming together to make a man who looked like he shouldn't be fucked with.

"I'm going to go out on a limb and say that you're the owner here." I said.

"That's right brat, now tell me what you're doing assaulting my customers!" The man demanded angrily.

"Lieutenant Nobody here has some things to answer for, it's actually a good thing you made it here." I answered. "The Lieutenant has some things to say, isn't that right?"

Fullbody nodded furiously, gasping slightly.

"To start off, I believe you need to apologize to the two of us for firing that cannon at my friends, which then hit the Baratie."

"I…I'm S-sorry." Fullbody sputtered out.

"And you're also going to pay for any damages that occurred because of your foolishness, correct?" I continued.

Fullbody nodded enthusiastically.

"What was that?" I asked condescendingly. "You need to speak up."

"Yes, I-I'll pay." Fullbody struggled to get out. "I'll pay for everything!"

"Everything, eh?" I laughed. "You must be really sorry, offering to pay for everyone's meals like that."

Fullbody seemed confused for a moment, then realized what he had said.

"I'm just a nice guy, I guess." Fullbody said, laughing nervously now that I was giving him room to breathe. "The kind of guy you would want to let live."

"Well since you asked so nicely, I think I might." I replied. "But one last question, and you had better tell the truth. How did you know me?"

"There's a bounty for you cycling around the Marine Headquarters, not to be released to the public." Fullbody answered. "All sightings of you are to be reported to command before engaging directly."

"_~hmm~_ Is that right?" I muttered. "Well, I thank ye for the information, and for offering to pay off everyone, but I'm afraid recent information requires a change of plans."

I started squeezing, prompting Fullbody to resume struggling.

"You said you'd let me go!" Fullbody said before I cut off his airway.

"Yes, I did." I agreed. "But I can't have you revealing my location to hunters just yet."

My eye wandered over to where Fullbody had been sitting, noticing that a woman was sitting at the table with him.

"I'm sorry, are you two in the middle of a date?" I asked the lady, who nodded in confirmation. "_~sigh~_ I don't want to ruin your evening any more than I already have, but…ah hell."

I stood, letting go of Fullbody in the process. The Lieutenant rolled on the floor and gasped for air, slowly rising to his feet. He stumbled back to his chair and sat, slowly calming his breath.

"Treat her right, she just saved your life." I said, turning to the rest of the Baratie and raising my voice. "And don't forget everyone, the Lieutenant is paying for all your meals!"

The restaurant cheered, then resumed eating like nothing happened. I turned to the owner, who seemed to be amused by the whole thing.

"Sorry about that, I don't take kindly to people trying to kill my friends." I said. "Fullbody's paying for everything, but I could help with any structural damage."

"_~hehehe~_ Sounds good." The owner laughed. "There's a hole in the roof, start with that."

I nodded and walked upstairs to inspect the damage.

* * *

The owner wasn't kidding about that hole, it could be used as another doorway it was so big. I sighed and went to work, stripping away the damaged boards after I had found some replacements. I hammered away, sealing up the hole as best I could. As I was working, I heard what sounded like a gun shot from down below and ran to see what was going on.

* * *

I hopped down the steps to see a sick looking man walk in and sit down alone at a table. The man seemed beaten and tired, barely having the strength to lift his foot so he could lean back. Everyone became deathly silent at his presence, not daring to speak.

"Anything will do, just bring me some food." The man eventually said. "This place is a restaurant, right?"

"Welcome, you squid-faced bastard!" A different man exclaimed happily.

This new guy was quite a sight, shaven head wrapped in a piece of rope and a grin that could rival Luffy's. He was wearing an apron and the same neck-scarf-thing as the other cooks I had seen, so I assumed he worked at the Baratie.

"I'm only going to say this one more time so listen up!" The first man, the one with the gun, said. "I'm a customer, and as such you'll bring me food this instant!"

"That cook is as good as dead." I heard Fullbody remark.

"Pardon me dumbass, but do you have any money?" The chef-guy asked, starting to sound angry.

"You accept lead?" The gunman replied, holding the barrel against the chef's head.

"So you don't have any money?" The chef said.

All of a sudden, the gunman was being bashed through the table and chair by the chef guy. The restaurant erupted into cheers as I ran out to save the gunman.

"Stop!" I said, sliding between the chef and the gunman. "Leave him be, his meal is already paid for."

"What are you talking about?" The chef demanded.

"The lieutenant is paying for everyone's meals, so stop beating up on this lad." I explained.

"Thank you." The gunman said, getting up from the ground. "But don't call me lad."

"Don't mean nothing by it lad, 'tis a force of habit." I said. "Are you alright?"

"I'll be better when I get some food." The gunman smirked.

"No you won't!" Fullbody exclaimed, standing from his seat. "I refuse to pay for this criminal's meal!"

"I'm afraid it's too late to object, unless you miss having your neck crushed that much?" I threatened.

Fullbody wavered for a moment, but quickly recovered. He turned to be facing me more openly and glared, sliding into a fighting stance.

"This song and dance again?" I laughed. "I have a hard time believing th-"

Fullbody interrupted me with a well placed jab, shattering my jaw as well as unhinging it. I stumbled back a bit, then started laughing. It sounded strange through my hanging mouth, but had the desired effect on the Marine. Fullbody watched in shock and confusion as my jaw stitched itself back together before his eyes.

"~Uh-Uh-Uh~" I mocked, wagging my finger side-to-side like a disappointed parent.

Before Fullbody could react I grabbed him by the collar, lifting him over my head to slam him into a nearby table. In his dazed state it was easy to pick him up and slam him against the floor, and then to pick him up again and throw him out the door. I walked out after him, watching as he struggled to pick himself up.

"I'm giving you one last chance to give up before I beat the crap out of you, boyo." I threatened, cracking my knuckles.

"Alright, I give." Fullbody groaned. "I'll pay."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" I asked. "I can't promise you'll walk away from this."

"What are you talking about, I just said that I was going to pay." Fullbody said, confused.

"Alright, can't say I didn't warn you." I replied, ignoring him.

Fullbody didn't have time to respond before I slammed his face into the ground. He groaned and tried to get back up only to be forced back down by my foot smashing against the back of his head. With a final, strangled gasp Fullbody fell unconscious. I turned and walked back inside the Baratie, looking toward the gunman sadly.

"Sorry mate, the ponce got nackered and's been shipped off to Bedfordshire." I explained "Git was probably boracic anyhoo."

The gunman just sort of stared at me, trying to figure out what I said.

"He's...not paying?" One of the chefs eventually deduced.

"'tis what I said, ain't it?" I replied. "Sorry lad."

The strange chef from before suddenly appeared from nowhere, grabbing the gunman.

"Alright then; no money, no food!" He declared, throwing the gunman out of the restaurant proper before turning to me. "And you! Unless you're going to start paying, get out as well!"

"Leave him be Patty, the brat's going to work off his meal." The owner said.

"Whatever you say Zeff." The strange chef shrugged. "Follow me, there's some dishes that need cleaning."

* * *

A few minutes later I was walking out to dump some refuge when I noticed one of the chefs giving the gunman some food. I watched them for a moment, impressed at the chef for doing something so kind. The chef was wearing a dark double breasted suit, a blue collared shirt along with it. His long, blond hair covered his left eye while leaving his right one open. His eyebrow was large and curly, looking almost like it was drawn on, and a fag was sticking out his mouth.

"I'm glad you got some food, sorry about what happened earlier." I said, getting their attention. "What's your name?"

"It's Gin, I'm a member of the Krieg Pirates." The gunman answered.

"And I'm Sanji." The chef continued.

"Nice to meet you two, name's Kendrick." I replied. "Sanji, how does joining a pirate crew sound?"

_"~Huh~_?" Sanji grunted, confused.

"My crew is looking for a cook, and you seem like a good guy." I explained.

"You're a pirate?" Sanji asked. "Then why did you fire a cannonball at our restaurant?"

"That was an accident, it was supposed to hit us but I redirected it away." I explained. "Sorry about hitting your ship."

"In any case, you better not try anything funny in this restaurant." Sanji said. "The owner of this place used to be the cook of a pretty infamous pirate crew."

"Really?" I remarked.

"Yeah, this restaurant's like a treasure to the old geezer. And the rest of the cooks who came to work here out of their admiration for the geezer are all hot-blooded and crude enough to be pirates." Sanji continued. "But it's quite appropriate considering all the pirates that frequent these parts."

"Seems like you'll never be bored working here." I remarked.

"Definitely not, though it's become a daily routine for us." Sanji replied. "There's even been some guests lately who have come to see pirates and the cooks duke it out, which scared off all the waiters."

"So that's why he wanted me to work for a year." I mumbled to myself. "Anyways, what do you say about joining us? It'll be quite the adventure."

"I'll have to refuse that offer." Sanji answered. "I've got my own reasons for working here."

"That's too bad, may I ask what they are?" I responded.

"You may, but I won't answer." Sanji said, taking a puff.

"Fair 'nuff." I remarked. "You wouldn't happen to know anyone else who's a good cook that might come with us?"

"I'm sure someone would, just ask around." Sanji replied.

"If I can cut in…" Gin started. "You said you're a pirate? Can I ask what your objective is?"

"Luffy, my captain, is going to find the One Piece." I answered with a grin. "We're heading to the Grand Line."

"…If you're still looking for a cook, I'm assuming you don't have very many people on your crew yet." Gin continued. "Right?"

"Yep, it's just the five of us." I answered.

"You don't seem to be a bad guy, so let me give you some advice." Gin said. "Give up on going to the Grand Line. You're still young, no need to recklessly rush into things, and besides, the Grand Line is just one part of all the oceans of the world. If you want to be a pirate, there's plenty of other seas for you to roam out there."

"_~heh~_ That would be the smart thing wouldn't it?" I remarked, looking toward the sky with a smile. "After all, the Grand Line is the pirate graveyard. What chance do we have of even making it to the first island? Only a crazy person would even dare to attempt it."

I paused to let it sink in.

"Which is exactly why we're going." I continued. "Every one of my crew members has their own goals, but all of us are that special mix of stubborn and brave that gets shit done. Everyone has dreams, we're simply willing to die for ours as well as each others.

"It seems like I can't stop you." Gin said, standing up. "At least I can tell myself I tried."

Gin procured a boat and climbed aboard, setting sail.

"And Sanji, thank you so much for the food. You're my savior." Gin thanked as he slowly drifted away. "That meal was really the best I've ever had. Would it be alright to come here to eat again?"

"Sure, anytime." Sanji replied.

"Hey, errand-boy!" Zeff called. "So that's where you were!"

Zeff walked onto the upper deck and looked down to see the plate Sanji had used to feed Gin.

"Go, Gin…" Sanji said, looking at Zeff.

"Sorry, Just because you gave me food you're going to get scolded." Gin apologized.

"Come again?" Sanji remarked, throwing the dishes overboard with a smile. "How can I be scolded, if there's no proof?"

Gin smiled back and bowed on his knees, his boat floating farther and farther away.

"Don't you get caught again Gin!" Sanji called, waving.

"Sanji! Errand-boy! Both of you get back to work!" Zeff yelled at us.

I returned to the kitchen, doing things like cleaning dishes or counters. I was impressed, the chefs all quickly went about their work while still having time to bicker and talk about things. It definitely seemed like a fun place to work if you could keep up.

"Hey, errand-boy!" Patty called. "We need you to go take people's orders, snap to it."

I grabbed a notebook and walked out to the dinning floor, walking from table to table until I came to the last one. There I found everyone from the ship, all of them looking pleased with themselves.

"Hey errand-boy." Nami said, smiling.

"Heard you have to work here for a year." Usopp said, grinning like a mad-man.

"Would it be alright if we come pick you up when you're let go?" Zoro joked, grinning as well.

"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up you wankers." I said, annoyed. "Are you going to order something or what?"

"How rude, you shouldn't talk about paying customers like that." Nami said, grinning. "We'll have to have a talk with the owner if you keep it up."

"_~sigh~_ Sorry, Ma'am, what would you like tonight." I said, feeling like a fool.

"Meat!" Luffy exclaimed loudly.

"Sushi." Zoro answered.

"Potato soup sounds good." Usopp said.

"I'll have some lime chicken." Johnny ordered.

"Me too." Yosaku agreed.

"And I would like the orange beef." Nami finished.

"Alright, and to drink?"

"More meat!" Luffy exclaimed again.

"Sake." Johnny, Yosaku and Zoro all ordered.

"I'll have some punch." Nami said.

"I'll just stick with water, thanks." Usopp answered.

"Usopp, how much water have you had?" I asked seriously.

"A few glasses, why?" Usopp responded.

"You didn't hear it from me, but the water is actually sea water." I said, being quite so we weren't heard by anyone.

"What! But it tastes like normal water!" Usopp whispered back, shocked.

"That's because they purify it, but that's not enough to stop the sea madness." I replied. "Regular purifiers can't handle it."

"Sea madness!" Usopp squeaked.

"Haven't you heard of it? It's what happens to sailors who have to resort to sea water for nourishment, they go insane." I explained. "They only serve water here while your waiting for your meal, that way nothing bad happens. But as long as you haven't had any more than four glasses you should be fine."

Usopp suddenly became deathly pale.

"Oh no, how many have you had?" I asked, concerned.

"This is my fifth, I was really thirsty." Usopp answered.

"Quick, how may fingers am I holding up!" I said worriedly, sticking up my pinky.

"One!" Usopp answered, sounding scared.

"You're fine, just don't have any more." I said assuringly, calming Usopp.

I leaned over to Nami as Usopp let out a breath of relief.

"Keep and eye on him, he's already hallucinating." I said loud enough for him to hear, causing him to choke a bit as I walked away.

* * *

I was also one of the waiters of the evening, so I returned to their table a minute or two later to deliver their meals. Usopp's eyes were scanning the room, watching for anything strange. He poked at his soup a bit before eating, as if he was suspecting it to come alive.

"Where did you get that Nami?" I asked the navigator, who had a glass of wine and the remains of a Fruit Macedonia before her.

"That chef Sanji brought to me, such a gentleman." Nami answered. "You should act more like him."

"As much as I like to please you guys, I have too many problems as is. No reason to add histrionic to my list of psychoses." I said, turning to return to the kitchen. "Enjoy your meal."

"Wait! Kendrick!" Luffy shouted.

"What?" I asked.

"What is this." Luffy asked, holding up his drink.

"What you asked for." I answered. "It's meat and broth blended together. What do you think?"

"It's amazing!" Luffy cried, stars in his eyes. "Bring me more please."

"_~heh~_ Sure Luffy." I replied.

* * *

It wasn't until two days later that anything changed. The gang stuck around with me, enjoying the meals I provided them, and I even picked up some things about cooking. I wasn't nearly as good as anyone like Sanji, but it was enough to get by. That added to what I already new from my old life meant that I could recreate some of my old favorites, a thought which excited me greatly. I would always have my memories, and now I can share them with my friends.

Getting back on track, the second day brought the ship of the Krieg Pirates to the Baratie's doorstep. As the massive galleon pulled up, the patrons started to panic and watch from the windows. The ship itself was in shambles, large pieces missing and the sails and flag tattered immensely.

"That ship looks like shit." I remarked to Sanji. "Do you think Gin returned to thank you, or ask for more help?"

"I don't know, but something seems off." The chef replied. "To turn such a gigantic galleon into a wreck like that is beyond humans, it must have been some kind of natural disaster."

"It was probably the Grand Line." I said, prompting Sanji to look at me confused. "Don Krieg must have tried to make it through."

"You think so?" Sanji asked.

"Yeah." I answered.

Before anyone did anything besides stare at the ship, the doors to the restaurant opened to reveal Gin helping a huge man walk in. The man was massive, towering over Gin even while he was slouched over and was as wide as a tree probably. He had on a patterned shirt similar to my own as well as a thick wool coat. He had a large gold chain around his neck and seemed to be on the verge of death.

"Sorry for intruding…but could I have some water…and food." The man struggled to get out. "If it's money you want, I've got plenty."

I hesitated a moment, then walked into the kitchen. I was joined some time later by Sanji, who seemed surprised to see me but chose not to say anything. We finished a plate of food and took it out to the man, Sanji kicking Patty out of our way in the process.

"Here, eat up." I said, handing the meal over.

"Thank you!" The man cried, scarfing down the food.

"Sanji, errand-boy! Take that food back this instant! Do you have any idea what kind of man he is?" One of the chefs ordered. "The ruler of the East Blue, the King of Deceptions! That's Don Krieg for you! He started out by disguising as a Marine after escaping prison, then he killed the officer in charge of the ship and took it over. That's how he became a pirate! Since then he's attacked ports, towns and ships by waiving a Marine flag, and hangs a white flag to attack his enemy's by surprise! He's a man who will stop at nothing to win, and that's how he made it to the top! His strength ain't no exaggeration either! You think he'll just leave after eating? That's impossible for him! Letting a demon like him starve to death is for the good of the world!"

The "demon" remark at the end of his exposition caused me to flinch, which nobody seemed to notice thankfully. I was about to say something when I was clotheslined, flipping through the air to crash into floor.

"Kendrick!" Sanji and some others exclaimed.

I groaned slightly and rolled over, standing. The starving guy, Don Krieg, was standing and looking much better than before.

"D-Don Krieg, this isn't what you promised!" Gin exclaimed, surprised. "I guided you here because you swore not to harm this restaurant!"

In response Krieg reached over and grabbed Gin's shoulder, crushing it slightly and causing Gin to cry out in pain.

"That was a great meal, I feel like I'm back to my regular old self again." Krieg said. "Nice restaurant you got here. I'll take it."

Krieg released Gin, who collapsed to the ground. The patrons decided that now was a good time to flee, and began to rush out to their ships.

"I told you so! This is the real Krieg, and he's going to take over our ship!" The chef from before yelled.

"_~ugh~_ What's with all the racket?" Patty demanded, waking up.

Patty looked around, backing up in surprise when he noticed Krieg.

"My ship's all worn out, so I've been wanting a new one. Once my business is done here, I'll have you get off this ship." Krieg remarked. "Right now, I have a hundred subordinates on my ship, and they're all starving and critically injured."

"Alright, this time listen to me and let them starve!" Demona yelled. "We are not fighting a hundred guys just because you had to be all goodie-two shoes!"

"What's the point? You already know what he's going to do." Angela asked.

"_~sigh~_ Yeah, but it makes me feel better." Demona answered as we walked back to the kitchen.

"Errand-boy, where are you going?" One of the cooks demanded.

"To make food for a hundred people." I answered.

In an instant I was surrounded, a group of cooks pointing guns at me in a circle.

"Who the hell do you think you are, Krieg's secret agent?" One of the chefs demanded. "We ain't going to let you take one step into the kitchen."

"…You dumb sons of bitches." I responded, surprising them. "Let me ask you all something. Have any of you ever starved before?"

Nobody said anything, which was to be excepted.

"Then you have no idea what those men are going through." I continued. "Starving is one of the worse pains you can imagine, coming up just behind drowning. First is the hunger, driving you to find a way to survive in any way. Then comes the desperation as you scavenge for anything you could possibly eat, dirt an appealing thing as you struggle to fill the gaping hole that is your stomach. Then, right at the end, it hits you. 'This is how I'm going to die, too weak and feeble to save myself as I slowly waste away in agony.'"

Everyone, even Krieg, became quiet and stared at me.

"That's bullshit!" One of the chefs growled. "It's impossible for you to know anything about that and still be here."

"Shoot me." I responded, surprising them again. "Shoot me or get out of the way, because killing me is the only way you're going to stop me."

I turned to the kitchen and started walking, a series of shots followed by pain exploding around me signaling that they didn't feel like moving. I fell to my knees, arms hanging limp.

"Kendrick!" Sanji, Gin and some others shouted.

"…I…I forgot…how much this hurts." I struggled to get out. "Now if you don' mind, I have some food to prepare."

I slowly raised to my feet, blood running down me in rivers. One of the cooks stepped in front of me, his face blank with black pools for eyes. Time seemed to freeze as we stared each-other down, then he smirked and unloaded a pistol into me.

"Stop it you piece of shit!" Sanji exclaimed, kicking the black-eyed cook into the wall.

As the chef slid down the wall, a trail of smoke escaped his mouth to disperse into the ether. The chef, now back to normal, gasped and looked around confused. Before he could say anything, Sanji knocked him out with a kick to the head.

"We all saw that, right?" Demona asked.

"Yes, we did." Angela answered. "We don't have much time left until they catch up with us."

"We…have plenty of time." I argued. "We just need…to train harder."

"Kendrick, don't talk." Sanji said. "Keep your strength until we can get you help."

I looked up to see the other cooks that had shot me looking at each-other in the same confused manner as the black-eyed one. They dropped their weapons as a few of them left to find some first aid.

"_~HAHAHA~_ And you call me a demon!" Krieg laughed. "You just killed that kid, and for what? To delay the inevitable?"

"They…can't kill me." I said, catching everyone's attention. "And if you try to take this restaurant, you'll wish they had."

"_~Heh~_ Bold words from someone who-(_~clank~_)!" Krieg responded, not expecting what happened next.

As he was talking, one of the bullets was forced out and fell to the ground, soon followed by the others until a collection was rolling around me. Sanji was to shocked for words, choosing instead to make a strange squeaking sound. My wounds closed up as I turned to face Krieg, who stood stock-still in shock.

"Once you get your food, you're leaving." I said, glaring at him.

"Why wait till he gets his food!" Patty exclaimed, hefting a giant…shrimp? "Indigestion Meatball Cannon!"

The shrimp, now revealed to be a stylized mini-cannon, fired right at Don Krieg. The captain shot out of the Baratie, landing on the dock in a smoking heap.

"Don!" Gin exclaimed.

"_~agh~_ Dammit, I ended up destroying the entrance." Patty remarked. "Zeff's going to have my head for this."

"It fine, just collateral from defending the ship." The chef that told us about Krieg said. "Right now we should focus on the fact that this kid just shrugged off being shot like it was nothing!"

"Fuck you it was nothing!" I rebutted. "It hurt like a bitch!"

"That's not the point!" The chef yelled back. "The point is that you're alive when you should be dead!"

"Wow, be a dick why don't you." I grumbled. "If you hate me that much I'll just leave."

"_~argh!~_ Just explain yourself already!" The chef ordered.

"It would really be best if I didn't, mostly because I don't know the whole story myself." I said. "All I know is-get down!"

I tackled the chef to the ground just as a hailstorm of bullets whizzed past us, hitting a few of the other cooks. We all looked to the door to we Don Krieg standing there, various guns pointed at us from hidden places in the armor he was wearing. I had noticed movement out of the corner of my eye, seeing him aim at me just in the nick of time.

Don Krieg's armor was gold-colored and very shiny, covering his entire upper body except for his head. His coat was thrown over his back like a cape, his two fur-lined pouldrons had his pirate mark on them. Black fur-lined gloves finishing it all off.

"You damn worms think you can defy me! I'm the strongest!" Krieg yelled. "This steel arm, more powerful than anyone! This steel body, tougher than anyone else's!"

Krieg pulled off his glove, revealing that his hand had a large gem set in the back of it. Smaller gems studded his fingers like an opulent knucklebuster.

"And this diamond fist that can pulverize anything! My entire body is a finely tuned weapon!" Krieg continued. "I'm the Fleet Admiral of 50 ships and 5000 men! I've won every single battle I've been in, there is no man more worthy of the title 'Don' than I am! So if I tell you to prepare food for my men, then you shut up and do it! Nobody goes against Don Krieg! Not even freaks like you!"

Suddenly Zeff appeared with a large sack, placing it before Krieg.

"Owner Zeff!" The cooks exclaimed.

"There's enough food here for a hundred people." Zeff said, ignoring his chefs. "So hurry up and bring it to them."

"Did…did they just say 'Zeff'?" Krieg asked, being ignored.

"Sir! How could you give them the food! Just what's the meaning of this?" A cook demanded. "Once those pirates on the ship recover, they'll overtake our restaurant!"

"That's only if they still have any fighting spirit left at all." Zeff responded, confusing the cooks. "Isn't that right, defeated warriors of the Grand Line?"

"Told ya, beaten by Grand Line." I remarked off-hand to one of the chefs. "Pay up, 2000 Beli."

The cook reached under his apron and pulled out the money, passing it to me without paying attention. He blinked, then turned to glare at me.

"Wait, we didn't make a bet!" He exclaimed angrily.

"Pay attention, something's happening." I scolded, turning away.

"Why you piece of-!"

"You're…'Red-Leg' Zeff!" Krieg interrupted, shocked. "So you are alive, the peerless captain and cook of his own ship."

"So what if I'm alive? It's got nothing to do with you." Zeff responded. "As you can see, I'm living as a mere cook now."

"I wouldn't say a 'mere' cook." I interjected, folding my apron. "You and Sanji make some of the best food I've ever eaten."

"_~grr~_ Are you comparing that brat to me?" Zeff growled. "There's leagues of difference in our skill!"

"I wouldn't say leagues, more like centimeters." I responded. "And I'm not comparing that 'brat' to you, I'm comparing you to him."

I noticed Sanji's eyes widen a bit, causing me to smile. Zeff glared at me, turning to face me dead on and ignoring Krieg in the process.

"Something must be wrong with your taste buds if you can stomach his shit." Zeff growled. "And something's wrong with your head if you think that I'll allow myself to be insulted like this in my own restaurant. Grab your stuff and get out before I knock you out."

"I can leave? Thanks!" I responded, grinning. "It would have sucked if I had to stay here a whole year!"

Zeff looked confused for a moment, then seemed to remember that I was supposed to be working for him. He looked angry for a moment, then started grinning as well.

"Clever trick, brat." Zeff complemented.

"_~hihihi~_ Thanks. Might not be the best cook, but I can serve a plate of bullshit like no other." I laughed.

"Stop ignoring me!" Krieg roared. "If you're really Red-Leg Zeff, then you should have a log of your travels in the Grand Line! Give it to me!"

"You are certainly correct to assume I kept a log, and I indeed have it to this day, but I shan't hand it over to you." Zeff responded. "That log is the pride of me and my men that bravely ventured the Grand Line together. It's much to valuable to give to the likes of you!"

"Then I'll just steal it from you!" Krieg exclaimed. "It's true that I came back from the Grand Line defeated…but even so, I'm still the mighty Don Krieg! That ocean shrouded by darkness, the mention of which alone causes weak men to tremble in their boots. I had enough power to conquer that sea! Enough manpower, enough ambition! The only thing I lacked was information, that was my only flaw! I simply didn't know enough, which is why I'll steal your travel log and this ship!"

"This guy likes to hear himself talk." I remarked.

"We should shut him up then." Demona growled. "He's getting annoying."

"Like hell we'll let you!" Patty exclaimed. "If we lose this ship, we got nowhere to go!"

"That's right! All the cooks here were chased out from other restaurants before finally finding their home in this place!" A chef agreed.

"Owner Zeff is the only one who accepted us as chefs!" Another cook continued. "He's our savior!"

"We ain't letting you pirates steal out home away!" A different cook finished.

"Silence! The difference in strength between you and I is as clear as night and day! I even proved it to you just now! Don't you dare forget that I'm the strongest!" Krieg roared. "Once I obtain Zeff's travel log, I'll reassemble my pirate fleet and find the One Piece to become the greater pirate of this era!"

"Oh, shouldn't have said that." I remarked with a grin.

"Hold it right there!" Luffy said, standing up from the table he, Zoro and Usopp had been sitting at. "The one who'll become the Pirate King is me!"

"W-what did that kid just say!" A cook exclaimed.

"Hey! Back down kid, or you'll be killed!" Patty said.

"I'm not standing down, especially not on a point like this!" Luffy replied.

"Did you say something little brat?" Krieg remarked dismissively. "I'll be nice enough to let your comment just now slide."

"It's fine, you don't have to let it slide." Luffy responded. "I was only stating the truth."

"This ain't a game." Krieg threatened.

"Of course." Luffy agreed.

"Did you hear that just now? Even Krieg couldn't make it there!" Usopp exclaimed. "I won't say anything bad, so let just give up on going to a place like that."

"Just keep your mouth shut." Zoro replied. "You planning to ruble Luffy? Need a hand?"

"No, it's fine." Luffy responded. "You can stay sitting down."

"_~ha…Hahaha! AhHaHaHaHa!~_ Those are your crewmates?" Krieg laughed. "A rather small bunch, aren't they?"

"What are you talking about? I've got three others as well!" Luffy rebutted.

"Hey, you just counted me in, didn't you?" Sanji asked.

Now is a good time to mention that I convinced Luffy to recruit Sanji, and that he had been working on it since we got here.

"Don't joke with me, punk!" Krieg shouted. "Even my fleet of 50 ships and 5000 pirates was utterly decimated by that devilish sea in only seven days, only because we lacked information!"

"Seven days? He only lasted a week?" Demona remarked. "He must be a moron to lose all his forces so quickly."

"I know, what a bitch." I agreed.

"Perhaps it was a stroke of bad luck?" Angela offered.

"There's bad luck and there's moronity." I rebutted. "Being fired so your bosses don't have to take a pay cut? Bad luck. Being hit by a out of control car? Bad luck. Shot and killed for no adequate reason? Awful luck. But losing 50 ships and 5000 men to the Grand Line? That's being foolish and overconfident."

It was then I realized how quiet it was, all the chefs (and Usopp) had various looks of shock and horror on their faces, while Luffy, Sanji and Zoro seemed amused by something. Gin looked annoyed, but not even in the same ballpark as the pure rage Krieg had aimed at me.

"I was speaking aloud, wasn't I?" I remarked.

"Yep, it was funny." Luffy giggled.

"I need to work on that, but for now I recommend that everyone gets out of the way." I said, prompting the cooks to all take a large step back.

"YOU INSOLENT PEST!" Krieg roared, his armor opening up once more to fire upon me.

I was forced against the support pillar, my body riddled with bullets. I don't know how long it lasted, but my the end of it all I looked more like a piece of chum than a person. Whatever powered my healing must have been used up by the onslaught, none of my wounds were being repaired. Krieg was panting slightly, trying to regain his breath. He picked up the sack of food and turned to leave the restaurant.

"I'm going to give this food to my men, then return for this ship and the log." Kreig said, leaving. "If anyone else wants to die, you're welcome to stay here and wait for my return."

Sanji and Luffy rushed over to me, hefting onto a table.

"Shit, what do we do?" Sanji exclaimed. "I've never seen anything this bad!"

"I can't believe this, is he dead?" Usopp asked, looking green.

"No, he's not!" Luffy responded. "We just need to get him to a doctor."

"There's no doctor alive that can fix this." Patty remarked from beyond my limited vision. "He's not breathing, and I'm pretty sure his heart is all over the wall there."

I heard someone retch in the background, I think It might have been Usopp. I slowly moved my arm away from my body, using my fingers to write a message on the tablecloth.

"He's writing something!" Zoro noticed. "What does it say?"

"…'Tbd'?" One of the cooks suggested.

"'Foa'?" Another one tried.

"'Yba'?"

"'Focd'?"

I gurgled in annoyance and pain, trying a different approach.

"Now he's drawing something." Zeff said.

"Is it…an Onigiri?" Sanji asked, confused.

"Oh yeah, I forgot!" Luffy exclaimed, grabbing Sanji and a few other cooks. "Come with me, we need to make lots of food!"

"Wait! What about Kendrick?" Sanji demanded. "We need to help him!"

"We are helping him!" Luffy responded.

"What's going on?" Usopp asked. "What's Luffy up to?"

"Just wait, It'll make sense in a minute." Zoro replied.

A pause.

"Actually that's a lie, it still won't make sense."

* * *

Luffy and the cooks returned some time later, large pots and trays of food carried with them. Luffy appeared in my vision, a ladle in his hand as he poured something into my mouth. Energy surged through my system, allowing me to sit up and grab the pot of soup from a surprised chef. I tipped it back and started chugging, ignoring the heat as my throat closed up to hold more of it in. I finished off the pot only to be passed another one that I cleaned out quickly.

It went on like that for a while, them handing me food that I finished in not time at all. Even when I had finished healing I still ate, feeling charged up by the end of it.

"Alright!" I exclaimed, hopping off the table. "We probably don't have much time left until they get here, let's go!"

Without waiting for anyone else, I ran out of the Baratie to intercept Krieg's goons. As we charged each other Krieg's ship suddenly exploded forward, perfectly cut into three chunks. The bow crashed against the Baratie, almost knocking me into the sea.

"What was that just now!" Krieg screamed in shock.

The pieces of Krieg's ship started to sink, creating a current that slowly pulled the Baratie in. Luffy, Usopp and Zoro rushed outside, and it was then I noticed Johnny and Yosaku swimming through the water. I looked around for the Merry, and realized that it was gone.

"Bro!" Johnny exclaimed. "Brother Zoro!"

"Yosaku! Johnny! Are you alright?" Zoro asked. "The ship! Where's our ship? What happened to Nami!"

"About that…we're sorry bro, she's not here anymore!" Johnny answered. "Sister Nami took the treasure and sailed away!"

"Wha…what!" The guys exclaimed.

"Shit, I forgot!" I berated myself. "We need to go after her!"

"What do you mean you forgot?" Usopp demanded. "What did you forget!"

"That's not important right now!" I responded. "We need to go after Nami!"

"Why would we do that!" Zoro demanded. "The moment I let my guard down, this happens!"

"How dare she pull a fast one on us!" Usopp cried angrily. "Especially in this crisis!"

"Usopp, shut up and calm down!" I ordered. "Johnny, Yosaku, is your ship seaworthy?"

"Yeah, but…"

"Then pull it around! Once Luffy finds the Merry, we're going after her!"

"There they are!" Luffy exclaimed, pointing off into the horizon. "See?"

We did, she left recently so didn't get very far yet. Johnny and Yosaku scrambled to their ship, prepping it.

"Just let her go." Zoro said. "No good will come from chasing after that thief."

"But she took our ship!" Usopp argued. "That ship's important!"

"I want her to become our navigator, no matter what!" Luffy declared.

Usopp and Zoro stared at Luffy for a moment.

"Fine." Zoro sighed. "Why'd I have to follow such a troublesome captain? Hey Usopp, we're going!"

"Right!" Usopp responded.

"It him! Don Krieg, it's him!" One of the pirates screamed, catching our attention. "The one who destroyed our pirate fleet! He followed us all the way out here, he's come to kill all of us!"

The man in question was quite the sight, floating toward us on what amounted to a platform with a single chair and mast. The man had on a large coat with a floral pattern on the arms and the inside of the collar, no shirt on underneath. Plain white pants and dark boots covered his legs, a wide-brimmed hat with a plume atop his head. He had a thin, angular beard and mustache along with a cross necklace. To top everything off a massive sword was strapped to his back, the handle and hilt both hanging of him my about a foot. The blade was dark and curved, and it was a wonder he could sit down at all. Probably the most interesting thing about him was his eyes, his gaze piercing like a hawk's from under his hat.

"Damn it, what did we ever do to you!" A pirate demanded. "Why the hell do you have to follow us all the way out here!"

The swords-man grimaced at the pirate as if he was a particularly annoying fly.

"To kill some time." He answered, sounding bored.

"That's bullshit!" The pirate yelled, drawing two pistols and firing.

In an instant the swords-man unsheathed his sword and held it so that it was pointed at his attacker, a soft ping ringing out.

"What! It missed?" One of Krieg's pirates exclaimed, surprised.

"He deflected it. It'll be the same no matter how many times you shoot." Zoro explained, surprising the pirates with his sudden appearance. "He changes the bullets trajectory with the tip of his sword."

"And who are you, you bastard?" A pirate demanded.

"I've never seen such graceful movements." Zoro continued, ignoring the pirate.

"A sword without grace is no strong sword." The swords-man replied.

"Did you cut this ship as well with that sword?" Zoro asked, referring to the wreckage that used to be Krieg's galleon.

"Yes, indeed." The hawk-eyed man answered.

"No wonder…you really are the strongest." Zoro said, grinning either nervously or excitedly. "I set sail to meet you!"

"…What do you aim for?" The hawk-eyed man asked.

"To be the strongest." Zoro answered, putting on his bandana. "You said you're free, right? So let's have a duel."

"It him! Zoro!" One of Krieg's pirates shouted. "Roronoa Zoro of the three sword style!"

"Hey! We're going to lose sight of the ship!" Usopp exclaimed, trying to get our attention.

"If you're a competent swordsman by any means, then I can demonstrate the clear difference in strength between you and I without needing to cross blades at all." Hawk-eyes declared. "But still, you dare to challenge me. Does your bravery come from your conviction, or from ignorance?"

"It comes from my ambition, and a promise to a friend." Zoro answered, drawing his blades.

* * *

The two swordsmen moved into position, facing off against each-other on one of the floating pieces of Krieg's deck. The guys and I had moved to the ship, setting it to drift so that we could watch the battle.

"To be honest, I never thought I'd be able to meet you so early on." Zoro remarked, once again showcasing his ability to speak clearly with something in his mouth.

"How the hell does he do that?" Demona asked.

"How should I know? Just pay attention." I responded.

"A waste, if you ask me." The hawk-eyed man replied to Zoro.

"There's not a chance someone can match our bro!" Yosaku declared.

Hawk-eyes reached up and took off his necklace, pulling off the long part to reveal a small blade. The knife was tiny, slightly smaller than an oyster shucker.

"Just what're you planning to do with that?" Zoro demanded.

"I'm different from those stupid brutes who'd go all out just to hunt a mere rabbit." Hawk-eyes explained. "Though you may be a swordsman of some renown, this is the East Blue. The weakest of the four seas that are separated by the Red Line and Grand Line. Unfortunately I do not have a blade smaller than this at the moment."

"There's a limit to how much you can underestimate me!" Zoro growled, charging the swords-man. "You better not regret it when you die!"

"Hear me, little frog in his well." Hawk-eyes said, not moving to avoid or deflect Zoro's attack. "It is time for you to realize the world is bigger than what it seems from your hole."

"ONI!" Zoro exclaimed, bearing down on Hawk-eyes. "GIRI!"

Everyone became deathly quiet, shocked at what we were seeing. Hawk-eyes had held up his toy-sized knife, intercepting Zoro's attack at the moment his three blades crossed over each-other like it was nothing.

"Brothers 'Oni Giri' was stopped!" Johnny and Yosaku exclaimed. "His signature attack that sends his opponents flying 100% was stopped!"

"The fuck am I looking at?" Demona remarked, amazed. "We knew this was going to happen, but still…it's not the same in person like this."

"What are you talking about, how could we know this was going to happen?" I asked. "It's not like we can see into the future or anything."

"_~sigh~_ I don't like this plan, they're going to figure us out at some point." Angela said. "And then where will we be?"

"You guys need to stop talking crazy and pay attention." I scolded.

Zoro roared and attacked Hawk-eyes, his flurry of attacks deflected and blocked at every point. Hawk-eyes forced Zoro back, but Zoro rolled with it and charged again.

"Come on bro! Show him what you really got!" Johnny cheered. "Come on!"

"He's easily taking on Roronoa Zoro's three swords with that little thing!" One of Krieg's pirates exclaimed, shocked.

"I trained to win!" Zoro screamed, continuing his unrelenting and ineffective attack. "I came to beat this man!"

"What burdens you so?" Hawk-eyes asked Zoro. "What do you still desire at the extent of your strength, weakling?"

"How dare you call our bro a weakling!" Yosaku exclaimed, stepping up with his sword drawn.

"We ought to tech you a lesson, bastard!" Johnny agreed, following suit.

"Stop, Yosaku! Johnny! Don't interfere!" Luffy ordered, pulling them back. "Stay put right here!"

Zoro was knocked back again, shifting to a strange stance as he stood. The katanas he had in his hands were crossed vertically over the one in his mouth, creating a sort of "H" shape.

"Tora Gari!" He roared, rushing Hawk-eyes.

"Demona, get ready." Angela said. "We can't be sure if he can handle it."

I ignored them, watching as my friend was speared through the chest.

"Bro!" Johnny and Yosaku screamed.

Luffy looked pained, trying hard not to rush over and help Zoro just like I was. It wouldn't be right for anyone to interfere, it was his fight and his alone.

…

It also didn't help that Angela and Demona had taken control of my legs, stopping me from moving.

Zoro wasn't moving either, standing there with Hawk-eyes knife buried in him. A moment passed.

"Do you wish for me to pierce your heart thus?" Hawk-eyes asked. "Why do you refuse to step back?"

"Beats me…not really sure myself…" Zoro answered slowly, blood staining his shirt. "But I get the feeling…that if I were to take even one step back right now, I'd lose something very important to me…a promise or an oath…or whatever it is would be irreversibly broken, and that I would never be able to return back to standing where I am now."

"Yes." Hawk-eyes replied. "Such is defeat."

"_~hahaha…_~ Then that's why I can't step back." Zoro continued, clearly in pain.

"Even if it means your death?" Hawk-eyes demanded.

"I'd much rather die!" Zoro answered.

"Kid…tell me your name." Hawk-eyes requested, putting away his necklace-knife.

"Roronoa Zoro." The green-haired lad answered, moving to be in a new stance. This one found him extending his went out and holding his swords at an angle perpendicular from each-other.

"I shall remember it, for your strength is not oft seen in this world." Hawk-eyes said, drawing the blade he had on his back. "And to pay my respect to you as a fellow swordsman, I shall end this duel with my Black Sword; the world's strongest sword."

"He unsheathed it!" A Krieg pirate exclaimed. "That sword he used to cut our ship with!"

"Die!" Hawk-eyes shouted, charging Zoro.

"Bro, that's enough!" Johnny exclaimed. "Stop!"

"Santouryuu Ougi!" Zoro shouted, quickly twirling his swords. "Sanzen Seka!"

Zoro and Hawk-eyes flew past each-other, blood spraying in the air between them. A moment passed, then Zoro started to bleed as the katana in his hands shattered. As if nothing was wrong Zoro sheathed the sword in his mouth and stood, turning to face Hawk-eyes with his chest open to attack. Hawk-eyes hesitated, looking confused.

"A wound on one's back is the same of a swordsman." Zoro explained, grinning.

"Splendid." Hawk-eyes replied, smiling as well.

Hawk-eyes struck, blood spraying from the wound Zoro now had running across his torso.

"Zoro!" Luffy, Usopp and I screamed.

"Bro!" Johnny and Yosaku echoed.

"This is the power of the Grand Line, the power of the world!" A Krieg pirate exclaimed. "Even pirate hunter Zoro couldn't come close!"

"It's simple!" Sanji shouted. "Just throw away that ambition!"

Zoro fell into the sea, prompting us to take action. Luffy shot his hand toward Hawk-eyes, stretching to grab a hold by the swordsman. Johnny and Yosaku jumped into the water after Zoro, and I crouched low to the ground after regaining control of my person…in a sense.

"Kendrick, you need to calm down." Angela soothed. "It's not safe here, there's too much water."

Instead of verbalizing my response, I gave an unearthly screech and bristled. My mouth morphed into an unnaturally gaping maw of teeth and tongue, my skin becoming rough and hard as the ends of my fingers bled together into claws. The same thing happened to my toes, and my ears stretched slightly to become more pointed. Short, stabby hairs grew all over, collecting mostly around my back and chest, and the hair on my head stiffened to stand up more. The transformation completed with my bones shifting to better allow movement on all fours and my eyes illuminating a bright red, the changes coming together so that I looked like a cross between the wolf-man and Venom.

I gave out a guttural roar and clambered over the ship's rail, launching myself at Hawk-eyes. The swordsman dodged Luffy's attack, surprised when he noticed me flying through the towards him. He dodged me as well, forcing me to dig my claws into the platform so I didn't roll off into the ocean. I quickly recovered and charged him again, attempting to tackle him to the ground. Hawk-eyes drew his sword and swung, cutting me in half so that the pieces flew past him.

As my halves sailed through the air, tendrils of flesh rapidly grew towards each other and reconnected. I dug my hands into the wood again, this time spinning so that my legs flung out and grabbed one of Krieg's pirates with my knees. I pushed off the ground as my legs snapped back, using the momentum to spin faster and slam the pirates head into the ground, dazing him. I straddled him, reaching down to rip off his arms. I consumed them as he screamed in pain, moving on to the rest of him when I finished. I reached down and grabbed his spine, ripping it out along with his skull.

I twirled my new flail, trying to strike Hawk-eyes with it. He easily dodged my attacks, watching me like I was an entertaining monkey. I screeched, flinging the gory mess at the swordsman in a desperate attempt to one-up him. He drew his sword again, sliding out of the way and forcing me to the ground with the large blade. He speared me through the chest, trapping me to the platform. Before I could pull myself off, he stepped onto my hands. This left me immobile, let's flailing uselessly as I screeched and roared and made are sorts of other, unearthly sounding sounds.

"So, you're Kendrick Austin?" Hawk-eyes remarked. "You and your friends have caused quite a stir in the World Government. I wonder what they would award me for turning you in?"


End file.
